One Cabinet Minister insisted that Bahamians should not panic, another stressed that the concept should not be used as a lightning rod, an attorney said The Bahamas simply has to join and several business persons advised that now is the time for a clearly articulated position on the Free Trade Area of the Americas .
The varied points of view were expressed at a Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas town meeting on Thursday night on the hemispheric trade bloc that involves every nation on this side of the world except Cuba .
Panellists, ranging from cabinet ministers and economists to businesspersons and attorneys used the opportunity to allay some serious fears about the FTAA.
The concept does not mean the free movement of labour, the Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller stressed. He was also pressed to explain The Bahamas' position on the FTAA.
"These negotiations are in the infancy stages in many cases. The ministers and the groups meet and they discuss certain aspects that will be outlined in the agreement," he said. "We have not reached that stage yet to make a presentation to the Bahamian people and I say again there is no need to panic."
Echoing his explanation, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance James Smith said the proposed agreement recommends that each nation's immigration laws will reign supreme.
In fact the former Minister of Economic Development economist Zhivargo Laing said the free flow of workers across national boundaries was never a consideration and perhaps never will be.
"What we need to be focused on is what it is strategically we as a people want for ourselves and against that backdrop we must look at the question of free trade, globalization and even our political involvement of globalized trade," he said.
And while the hundreds of Bahamians who attended the town meeting at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel seemed hungry for answers about the free trade agreement, they were also reminded that trans-national corporations are already operating here.
Businessman, Neil McKinney, one of the members of the consulting groups, pointed to fast food chains as an example.
He admitted, however, that there are genuine concerns in the retail business sector about foreign companies coming into the country, thriving off cheaper prices that would eventually drive local merchants to lower their costs or run them out of business.
Mr. Mckinney, the former president of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, was also concerned about the lack of a clearly articulated goal for The Bahamas within the context of FTAA negotiations.
"We need to have some sort of national unity on that what our goals are and what we should strive for. There is no need for us to wait for WTO or FTAA or any other acronym," he said. "If we can do something that will improve our economy, we should be looking to do that as soon as we can to better prepare us for the days when we must enter."
The FTAA is an extension of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that would develop into a trade arrangement for 34 nations.
The Bahamas considered a small island developing state, as many of its neighbours in the region have been agitating for special considerations. Among them, reserving certain sectors of their economies for their own nationals, making them off limits for foreigners.
State Minister Smith has recommended that the retail, educational and agricultural sectors be among these sectors reserved.
Members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have been negotiating as a bloc to make more advantageous inroads in the negotiation process.
Most of the revenue generated in the Bahamas , which thrives off the twin pillars of tourism and financial services, has been made from customs tariffs. But there is a concern that signing on to the free trade agreement will mean that this revenue structure will have to change.
It is a prospect that the President of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Raymond Winder welcomes. He said the system of customs tariffs is perhaps one of the most inequitable tax structures yet.
"It is borne almost entirely by the poor people because they spend their entire income on consumption and any tax system in this country would be better than just tariffs," said Mr. Winder. "The point is the bulk of our services; police force, security, education is actually paid for by low income households."
"The more money you make in this country, the less taxes you pay. The time has come to address the issue of revenue reform to make it more equitable," he added.
Other members of the panel included the President of the Trade Union Congress which is organizing its own FTAA conference in The Bahamas and attorney Reginald Lobosky.
The FTAA negotiating themes relate to agriculture, competition policy, dispute settlement, government procurement, market access, services and subsidies.
The bulk of our services is actually paid for by low income households. The more income you make, the less taxes you pay
Reprinted from The Bahama Journal
