The Bahamas must join the Free Trade Area of The Americas, according to Central Bank Governor Julian Francis, who addressed delegates attending the International Labour Conference on FTAA this morning.
"It would be irresponsible in the longer-term interest of The Bahamas for our country to take an economically isolationist stance as some advocate," Mr. Francis said.
It is not a question as to whether or not there will be an agreement, he pointed out.
"Most countries will sign the agreement within five years," Mr. Francis said.
He said that the process will not be derailed so The Bahamas needs to be careful in negotiating its position with respect to FTAA.
"The true choice facing us is how we negotiate and position ourselves and not whether or not we enter into constructive dialogue with others," he said.
The Governor described the FTAA process as being a part of the "evolution of the global economic arrangement."
Just this week, the Minister for Trade and Industry Leslie Miller said that The Bahamas would not sign the FTAA agreement if it conflicted with policies designed to protect Bahamian citizens. The Minister, whose portfolio includes negotiating WTO and FTAA, said that negotiations were not even a third complete and he opined that negotiations would not be complete by 2005.
ï¾ Yesterday, Bahamas Bar Association President Peter Maynard said that the 2005 deadline was "premature" and would not give The Bahamas and other Caribbean countries sufficient time to fully examine the complex changes required to enact the treaty.
The Bahamas has been slow out of the gate with regard to addressing global economic agreements, according to some observers.
The Bahamas only recently became an observer at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), although insiders say that the opportunity to achieve that status was made available through its membership in the British Commonwealth from as far back as 1995.
Efforts are now being made to become a full-fledged member of the WTO, but according to sources, the bureaucratic process will prevent that from becoming a reality until 2008.
Mr. Francis was speaking at the international labour conference on the FTAA, which is being held this week at the Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino.
The Central Bank Governor was speaking on competition policy; one of the nine chapters that form the FTAA's mandate.
Competition policy refers to the overall policy framework of government, which impacts the level of competition in the market. It includes inter alia trade, foreign exchange, industrial policy, labour and investment policy.
One of the major aspects of competition policy, Mr. Francis said, is to reduce costs to the consumer ensuring the widest possible choice of goods and services.
By Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
