Caricom single market must move faster — Bernal

Director General of the Caribbean Regional Negoti-ating Machinery (CRNM) Dr Richard Bernal said the Caribbean Single Market and Economy is in danger of slipping behind regional free trade negotiations.

Bernal was speaking after a meeting between Canadian International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Caricom Trade Ministers on Monday. He said the Caricom Single Market and Economy is supposed to help the region prepare for regional and international free trade agreements. It should also serve as a base to build a negotiating position. “What is happening now is that the external agenda is moving so quickly that we are being faced with issues in the external negotiation that we have not yet resolved in the single market,” he said. “What it means is that the single market process must not slip in terms of implementation. It should actually be speeded up.”

At Monday’s meeting the two sides discussed the possibility of a trade agreement to, in Trade Minister Ken Valley’s words, “lock in” the duty-free access some Caricom goods now enjoy. The new agreement will be two-way but both Valley and Pettigrew noted the need for special and differential treatment for less developed economies in the region. Bernal said special treatment must have a place in all free trade talks. “There is no absolute free trade,” he said.  “What we are talking about are agreements which liberalise trade. “Yes, in broad principle this is about reciprocal trade but we are always careful to add the caveat of special and differential treatment for small developing countries, particularly the OECS countries.” Bernal added, though, that the private sector in Caricom must take the opportunity to prepare for the increased competition the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) will bring.