GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) and the United Kingdom (UK) have reaffirmed their commitment to fully implementing and ratifying the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed in 2021.
The EPA is a trade and development agreement designed to promote economic growth, open up markets, and improve trade between countries.
According to a communique issued after the inaugural meeting of the CARIFORUM-UK Technical Sub-Committee on Development Cooperation (TSCDC) here, noted that officials from both sides discussed areas of mutual interest such as leveraging market access offers, tariff commitments, enhancing trade in goods and services, and initiating regular tourism services dialogue.
The communique said that the meeting at the CARICOM Secretariat also reviewed recent UK trade policy developments affecting the EPA.
“Recognising the EPA’s importance to their economic and development partnership, the parties discussed high-priority market access challenges as well as what needs to be done to ensure the objectives of the agreement can be achieved.
”In noting the EPA’s potential to increase trade and investment, it was agreed that they would prioritize actions to overcome the obstacles hindering CARIFORUM States from effectively entering the UK market. The parties also addressed the UK’s market access concerns in the CARIFORUM States,” according to the communique.
It said CARIFORUM and UK officials examined the EPA’s role as a development-focused agreement, with the UK reaffirming its commitment to financial assistance, aligned with CARIFORUM’s priorities.
They also highlighted the significant milestones since the agreement’s provisional application in 2021. These include the operationalization of Joint Institutions such as the Joint CARIFORUM-UK Council, the Special Committee on Services, and the Technical Sub-Committee on Development Cooperation.
”The United Kingdom and the CARIFORUM States took note of the expectations for the first Five-Year Review of the EPA. Next steps on this review will continue at a technical level,” the communique said, noting both sides have “agreed to hold meetings of other Joint Institutions on mutually agreed dates”.
The meeting, chaired by the United Kingdom, was attended by representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados; Belize; The Bahamas; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Grenada; Guyana; Jamaica; St Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; the UK and Northern Ireland. Haiti was represented at the meeting as an observer.
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