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Guyana is in a better position to cope with the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) entered into with the European Union, given that, as it relates to reciprocity, Guyana had already liberalized most of the import markets from Europe prior to the trade pact.This is according to Head of State,Brock McGinn Jersey, Bharrat Jagdeo, during a recent press briefing. The President said that, from a regional perspective, CARIFORUM (Caribbean Community and Dominica) will be more adversely affected,Wholesale China Jerseys, given that they will lose significant amounts of revenue due to the fact that they will now have to liberalise their markets.“It will not have any major implications for our revenue base.”The President emphasised that, although Guyana was the most vociferous opposition to the EPA, the impact would not be that harmful to Guyana. “But other countries will have a greater fallout from the EPA than us.”The EPA was initialled last year, and serves as a trading agreement between CARIFORUM countries and the EU. It replaces the Cotonou Agreement, which provided for preferential pricing on exports from CARICOM to the EU.Former Guyana Ambassador to the European Union (EU), Dr. Havelock R. Brewster, in October last, disclosed that Guyana will be joining other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between CARIFORUM countries and the European Union.Dr. Brewster,Air Max 2019 Scontate, who is also a former Special Research Adviser and Director for Trade in Primary Commodities at the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development, at the time had said that, despite the intransigence of the European Commission and the failure of CARICOM partners to cooperate with Guyana in addressing the glaring shortcomings of the CARIFORUM-EU/ EPA, the Government of Guyana has succeeded in getting two important improvements made to the Agreement through a Declaration.According to Dr. Brewster, this will provide for: A mandatory evaluation of the costs and other deleterious effects of the Agreement in five-yearly periods, so as to determine where the terms of the Agreement and/or their application need to be amended; some degree of protection for CARICOM as it proceeds to develop the Single Market and Economy (CSME),Cristian Ansaldi Jersey, given that the EPA prematurely incorporates policies and measures that have not yet been developed and/or adopted within CARICOM itself.“These protections and the mechanism for revision of the EPA will now permit the Guyana Government to be a party to the EPA,” Dr. Brewster had divulged. He reminded that President Bharrat Jagdeo had said from the start that Guyana would not be a signatory to the Agreement unless forced to do so under duress, given the substantial losses that the country would incur due to the punitive tariffs that would be applied to its exports, particularly sugar, rice and rum.“He proceeded, therefore, to seek the cooperation of the other CARICOM States in getting the EC (European Commission) to amend the most harmful provisions, or lack of provisions, in the Agreement. Regrettably, the CARICOM partners failed to respond positively to his requests to do so, even though these changes would be in the interest of all. He went on to list some of the harmful provisions as the weak or non-existent development dimension that was promised as the centre-piece of the so-called EPA with the EU. He also noted that a French-sponsored review had referred to the Agreement as anti-development.“The curtailment of Caribbean development policy-space in several important respects; reneging on commitments undertaken in respect of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) negotiations; a number of unsatisfactory features in respect of the provisions on Services, and WTO-plus issues like investment, intellectual property rights,Cheap Atlanta Braves Hoodies, government procurement, e-commerce and on Trade in Goods; pre-emption of CARICOM’s development of regional integration instruments in those very areas, including certain of them presently actively under negotiation in CARICOM; the astonishing giveaway of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) and the inexplicable absence of any mechanism for evaluation of the cost and other effects of the Agreement, and commitment, if need be, to the revision of the terms, or application,Gorgui Dieng Jersey, of the relevant provisions,” Dr. Brewster added in his statement.Meanwhile, he also emphasized that, without support from CARICOM as a whole, it was not possible to get all the issues substantially addressed.“Moreover, an initiative through the grouping of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries for a Presidential engagement with the EU, to be organized by October 31,cheap jerseys, 2008 on such issues that also affect the African and Pacific States, has been ignored by CARICOM,” Dr. Brewster had asserted.He concluded, however, that the Declaration, therefore, while it does not address upfront all the issues, ensures that there is adequate protection to ensure that harmful effects are detected, arrested and corrected periodically. “It is unquestionably an important concession secured from the EC for CARICOM as a whole, and one that Guyana can live with,” Dr. Brewster stated. |
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