Are we ready for FTAA?

HOW PREPARED is our country to face the avalanche of hemispheric competition that would be unleashed on us with the coming of the Free Trade Area of the Americas in two years’ time? And what is being done to ensure that our entry into the FTAA would not be disruptive and, in fact, that we are actually geared to take advantage of this evolutionary trading arrangement? We have asked these questions before, but we are moved to ask them again in light of the concerns raised by Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday when he opened debate on the 2004 Budget in the House on Friday. “The reality,” says Mr Panday, “is that when the FTAA is realized, the lives of 800 million people living in the 34 countries of the Americas will be forever changed. Protectionism will give way to liberalization and the success or failure of developing nations like ours will be a function of our competitiveness as a whole.”

According to the Opposition Leader, there are more than 100 pieces of legislation that must either be amended or drafted anew, passed by Parliament and implemented if TT is to be readied for the FTAA. For example, he says: “Laws relating to importation of foreign goods such as the Food and Drug Act need to be reviewed and updated if we are to protect our citizens from sub-standard products.” He accuses the government of having no planned legislative agenda far less a programme of work to look at the statute books in relation to the FTAA. Is this a fact, or is Mr Panday simply playing to the gallery? There is little doubt, however, that the FTAA will have a significant impact on our country, particularly on its private manufacturing sector where there is pressing need for diversification, and, therefore, we expect that this is an issue which the Prime Minister or Trade and Industry Minister Ken Valley will dilate upon when the time comes for them to reply.

“With the advent of the FTAA, it is expected that there would be an influx of foreign manufactureed goods into this country. In this regard we have heard nothing of the preparedness of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Bureau of Standards in the context of the FTAA,” Mr Panday observes. In the context of globalisation, where competitiveness will be the key driver of economic activity, the Opposition Leader refers to the World Economic Forum report which sees TT as having a “notable competitive disadvantage in technology, public institutions and environmental indicators.” To meet this challenge, Mr Panday says “it is imperative that we deal with the current human resource deficiency in the Information Technology sector.”  Again, in terms of preparedness, we believe the point he makes is valid. How then should we address this critical human resource deficiency? Mr Panday believes that the University of the West Indies should be assisted to achieve this objective while Mr Manning in his Budget speaks broadly about the formation of a National Information and Communication Technology Plan and the creation of an integrated technology network. Readiness of implementation, it seems to us, may well be the critical factor in meeting this challenge. The Opposition Leader charges that the government “seems blissfully unaware of the importance of trade liberalization”  and warns that “it is time for TT to put trade negotiations on the front burner of our foreign/commercial policy.” Our economic future, he notes, “is likely to be impacted upon by trade negotiations more than by any other economic phenomenon that we now face.” We tend to agree. To enlighten the public on this critical issue, will Mr Manning or Mr Valley kindly reply.