On January 25, the Bahamas initialed commitments drawn up on trade in services and investment with the EU as part of the Economic Parnership Agreement (EPA) which links the EU and 15 Caribbean States. These commitments will enhance predictability and legal certainty in the Bahamas and hence encourage foreign direct investment for the benefit of the local economy. The Bahamas service providers and investors will also obtain better access to the EU market, as provided for in the Cariforum-EU EPA.
At the end of the Cariforum-EU negotiations in 2007, the Bahamas was not in a position to present an offer on services and investment. It was therefore agreed that the Bahamas would not participate in the services and investment part of the EPA pending the completion of negotiations on the specific commitments on services and investment. In the meantime, the advantages resulting from the EU commitments contained in the EU-Cariforum agreement were not extended to the Bahamas.
The Bahamas' initialed commitments encompass a whole range of economic sectors, including manufacturing, telecommunications, transport, financial services and tourism. Following the initialing, the commitments will need to be formally endorsed by the EU-Cariforum Trade and Development Committee, an institution created by the EU-Cariforum EPA.
The EU-Cariforum agreement was signed on October 15, 2008, and provisionally applied as of December 29, 2008. It provides for, amongst other things, the gradual and asymmetric liberalization of services and investment between the Caribbean signatories and the EU. The objective of these provisions is to facilitate trade in services and investment.
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