Haiti Signs CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

15 December 2009

Haiti on December 11 signed the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), joining the 14 Caribbean States that signed the EPA in October 2008. The agreement will significantly increase trade ties with other Caribbean countries as well as EU Member States.

The CARIFORUM-EU Agreement aims to promote sustainable development, boost trade, investment and innovation, build a regional market among Caribbean countries, and tackle poverty in the region.

European Trade Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said: "The CARIFORUM-EU Agreement marks a new era in the economic relations between the two regions. I am very happy that Haiti's specific needs could be accommodated, enabling it to join the other 14 Caribbean countries and the EU in their endeavor of creating a prosperous future for the region through increased trade and investment."

Commissioner for Development Karel De Gucht added: "Haiti's decision to join all its CARIFORUM partners in this agreement is truly significant as it offers a real opportunity to boost the nation's trade at this critical time of global economic downturn."

Previous preferential trade arrangements with the EU had failed to boost Caribbean countries' development. Other developing countries had also criticized those arrangements as discriminating against them, and had challenged them at the World Trade Organisation.

The EU and the CARIFORUM group of Caribbean countries therefore negotiated a new trade and development agreement, the EPA, between 2004 and 2007. The EPA was signed in October 2008, by 14 out of 15 CARIFORUM member states.

The only Least Developed Country (LDC) in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has recently been grappling with a range of pressing problems. These include hurricane damage, security issues, and a food crisis. For these reasons, it did not join signing the EPA last year.

However, the EU pledged to work with the Haitian government and other Caribbean partners to enable Haiti sign up at a later date. Haiti proposed adjusting some of its commitments on tariffs and the EU accepted the request in the light of Haiti's specific needs as the only LDC.

Amongst other things, the EPA offers Caribbean countries:

• Immediate duty- and quota-free access for their exports to EU markets;
• The possibility to open up their domestic markets to EU goods and services gradually, over 25 years;
• Extensive safeguards to protect local jobs and sensitive sectors;
• Freer trade in services, to promote growth and investment;
• Cooperation with the EU on programs to drive innovation;
• Greater protection for workers and the environment in the Caribbean; and
• Help for Caribbean exporters to meet EU and international standards.

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