nand.bardouille@crnm.org
http://www.crnm.org
The Fourteenth Meeting of the FTAA Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) was convened in San Salvador, El Salvador, July 8 to 11. CARICOM was represented by the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, the RNM and the CARICOM Secretariat.
CARICOM reaffirmed its commitment to the FTAA, but expressed concern over the impasse in negotiations and the need to identify a pragmatic approach for completing the Agreement on schedule. Key aspects of the negotiations remain in gridlock, namely: Agriculture (the treatment of export subsidies); Services (lack of consensus on the methods and modalities for negotiations); Investment (positions remain entrenched); Competition Policy; and, Subsidies, Antidumping and Countervailing Duties.
CARICOM has proposed, in previous TNCs, a political and technical stock-taking of the FTAA negotiations in order to assess the progress to date and, where necessary, narrow the eventual scope of the Agreement based on a realistic assessment of what can be achieved given the current timetable. At the El Salvador TNC, CARICOM identified four possible approaches to re-dimensioning the FTAA: (i) retain scope, retain schedule; (ii) reduce scope, retain schedule; (iii) retain scope, extend schedule; and, (iv) reduce scope, extend schedule. CARICOM believes option four is the pragmatic way to proceed.
Brazil and the United States, the two countries that are co-chairing the FTAA in this phase of negotiations, convened an informal meeting – at the TNC – of Vice Ministers which was intended to carry forward the informal dialogue initiated amongst Trade Ministers from select FTAA countries at Wye River, Maryland, in June. The meeting, however, failed to advance a consensus on adjustment to the schedule and content of the FTAA process. Ambassador Bernal had outlined a process for re-dimensioning the FTAA negotiations.
Submitted by: Dr. David E. Lewis Manchester Trade Ltd. – International Business Advisors
