Thursday, December 10, 2009

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Chamber issues strong message to govt over trade agreements By Scott Armstrong ~ Guardian Business Editor ~ scott@nasguard.com: A clarion call to the government to consult further with business has been issued by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, as it launches two major consultation papers. President of the Chamber Khaalis Rolle sent a strong message to politicians as he unveiled the two reports, one a paper on 'The Benefits and Challenges of the European Union – Cariforum, Economic Partnership Agreement to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) of The Bahamas', and the second on 'The Benefits and Challenges of The Bahamas in The World Trade Organization (WTO) for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises.' The papers have been described by the chamber as "milestone" in its efforts to support to the private sector, specifically small and medium-sized enterprises across The Bahamas. Under the auspices of the chamber's Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Trade Support Unit the papers were produced with the help of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The first of the papers is a direct response to the debate about the signing of the EPA late last year, and the chamber's concerns that its members needed more basic information and were not adequately consulted as to why The Bahamas had engaged in the process Rolle said: "This resulted in a lot of misinformation, confusion and debates among the people who would be challenged and those who could and would benefit most from the agreement. "The paper does not seek to agree or disagree with the Government decision to sign the EPA, nor the commitments made under the EPA, but rather provides general information to the public, in simple, accessible language about what is in the agreement and what has been signed. "You would note that two weeks ago the Minister of Finance announced the completion of the EPA Services Offer, but unfortunately for us he did not provide any details on the adjustments and concessions made in that portion of the agreement. We look forward to receiving the final version of our services offer. "We would wish to remind the Bahamian business community that this announcement by the minister marked the 'end of the beginning, and not the beginning of the end. There is much work left to do. "These reforms and developments are 'theoretically' - 'progressive' and good for the improvement of the business environment - it is our view however that the private sector must continue to be engaged every step of the way and must be at the table to ensure that the steps taken are in the best interest of Bahamian business." The second of the sector papers provides general information with regard to The Bahamas pending membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO). This report does not argue the merits or demerits of this membership, but seeks to point out some of the challenges and opportunities that could come from this engagement. Rolle said: "It is our hope that this effort would mitigate against the experience of the EPA process and rather than late engagement, we begin the discussions now as to how we integrate ourselves more fully in the World Economy and these agreements that regulate International Trade." The chamber president closed his press conference in noting the negotiations for a Reciprocal Trade and Development Agreement with Canada had started. He said: "These agreements are no longer options for The Bahamas and we trust that our level of participation in this particular agreement will increase and begin to reflect the importance of the Canadian Market for the private sector. "In the meantime our unit will continue its efforts to provide information for the private sector and looks forward to continued collaboration with the Government on all of these important negotiations." Monday, November 30, 2009