Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are working towards securing flexibilities they have obtained in the negotiations on agriculture and non agriculture tariff liberalization modalities.
These flexibilities will enable OECS governments to avoid cuts to border taxes, including import duties, as a result of the current round of multilateral trade negotiations.
Head of the OECS Secretariat’s Technical Mission in Geneva, Ricardo James, says this is one of the matters discussed at recent talks in Dominica, among OECS trade officials on the current round of WTO negotiations.
“We have been negotiating for 10 years. A number of achievements have been made that are of particular interest to the OECS countries. In the area of tariff liberalization for example, a special concession has been granted to small vulnerable economies (SVEs), such as the OECS member states, that will significantly modulate the depth of tariff cuts,” he said.
James added that flexibilities given to OECS members states where there are no cuts in border taxes will certainly do well for OECS economies.
“A significant proportion of government revenue at various levels comes from border taxes including import duties. Therefore, not having to make cuts in our common external tariff (CET) rates as a result of this round will mean that government revenues are being preserved for the time being,” he said.
James was speaking on the recent meeting of OECS trade officials in Roseau, Dominica, which updated OECS member states on all areas of the current round of WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations.
The areas discussed during this activity included: market access for agricultural and industrial goods, trade facilitation, fisheries subsidies, intellectual property rights, and services.
The OECS Technical Mission in Geneva reported significant progress for the OECS in most areas of the WTO negotiations, but added that there is some work to be done in areas such as intellectual property rights, dispute settlement and the harmonized liberalization of services sectors within the context of the establishment of the OECS Economic Union.
“In the services negotiations, we are talking about the identification of sectors that countries are going to further liberalize and the various modes of supply along which these services will be provided. Each country will have to place an offer on the table regarding the additional services sectors they would want to liberalize and by how much. Once the modalities for tariff liberalization on agriculture and industrial goods are agreed then schedules will be set indicating what tariff lines are to be cut and by how much. In consequence much technical work needs to be done at the national and regional level to indentify which sectors and which modes of supply the OECS member states are willing to liberalize,” James said.
The OECS Secretariat says the recent consultations in Dominica provided a wealth of information to the OECS/WTO member states, having brought them up to speed on the current round of negotiations and the way forward.
“In Geneva the OECS Mission continues to effectively represent the interest of member states working through key negotiating coalitions and blocks such as the African-Caribbean and Pacific Group. Through those key negotiating coalitions and with the very presence of the OECS Mission in Geneva there is tremendous advantage for OECS member states in effectively advancing their concerns and positions at the WTO level,” James explained.
The recent meeting in Roseau of OECS trade officials on WTO negotiations was funded by the Caribbean Integration Support Project (CISP), an initiative under the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) which also funds the operation of the OECS Technical Mission in Geneva, and the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Hub and Spokes Programme.
