Bahamians appear to view the proposed Free Trade Area of The Americas (FTAA) treaty with suspicion and fear, believing it may undermine their wealth and national identity, responses to a public consultation staged by the ministries of foreign affairs and trade and industry indicated.
Although Bahamians who attended the third public session hosted by the ministries might have left with a better understanding of the planned agreement, many still had doubts.
"I don't think we changed many minds," forreign affairs and public service minister, Fred Mitchell, told The Tribune yesterday. "There's still a long way to go with that."
The meeting was part of the government's effort to encourage national discussions on a proposed agreement that could create a trading bloc involving 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere, about 800 million consumers and a combu=ined gross domestic product (GDP) of $11 million.
The FTAA aims to remove all policies – such as high import taxes and other impediments – that prevent easy or free trade between member states.
However, in The Bahamas, where illegal immigration costs the Government $1.5 million in registration costs alone, according to the Bahamas Department of Immigration, and farming and some manufacturing industies receive government protection from more competitive imports – the implications of free trade seem unappealing.
Mr. Mitchell said, " There is still considerable resistance in the domestic sector to joining and participating in the FTAA process, and a fear that continuing to participate in this process would undermine our national identity."
The meeting and a fourth session planned for September 30th are part of a public education campaign, where moderators stress that the Bahamas has made no decision on whether to sign up to the FTAA, and that even if the country did join it would enjoy a transitional period in which to make the changes called for in the agreement.
"The discussion with all economic matters in the Bahamas should be centredd around identifying the economic opportunities that arise," Mr. Mitchell said.
A major concern for Bahamians is that the FTAA will require this nation to remove it's import taxes – a source which accounts for about 60% of government revenue.
As the Bahamas has no income tax, a strict import tax structure pushes the cost of foreign goods above Bahamian products – a practice that would be considered "discriminatory" under the FTAA.
However, Mr. Mitchell said, "The information that is coming out is that we might be able to comply with FTAA requirements without a revolutionary change to the tax structure that we have. The idea is that our tax system is not discriminatory, because there is no preferential treatment. All goods that come into the country face the same duty."
