RNM UPDATE 0408

May 21, 2004

Prepared by the Communications Division of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), this electronic
newsletter focuses on the RNM, trade negotiation issues within its mandate and related activities.

- G90 MINISTERIAL SET FOR GUYANA

- CARICOM MINISTERS HIGHLIGHT SECTORAL ISSUES AT UK MEET
- CARICOM TRADE MINISTERS TO MEET WITH ‘US CCC’
- OECS AUTHORITY MEETING CONVENED
- BRAZIL CONTINUES TO TOUT MARKET ACCESS AS FOCUS IN AMERICAS-WIDE TRADE
PACT
- FTAA TNC CO-CHAIRS TO MEET AGAIN IN JUNE
- UK MINISTERS REAFFIRM SUPPORT TO RNM
- HIGH-LEVEL ACP AND ACP-EU MEETINGS IN BOTSWANA: A REVIEW
- WTO BRIEFING
- NEWS BRIEFS
- UPCOMING EVENTS

G90 MINISTERIAL SET FOR GUYANA

Guyana will host a G90 Ministerial Meeting, slated for Georgetown, June 3 to 4. The forum will be
preceded by a CARICOM Ministerial Consultation, June 2.

The G90 meeting is expected to contribute to efforts to revive troubled World Trade Organization
(WTO) talks.

The meeting is an important and unique opportunity to forge strong consensus and press forward
on a united G90 strategy regarding the Doha Agenda. More specifically, the meeting is seen as an
occasion for the G90 to adopt a common strategy; and to this end, advance a common platform on,
inter alia: Agriculture; non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA); Development Issues (including -
Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT), implementation issues and trade-related assistance);
and, “Singapore Issues”.

In reference to the G90 Ministerial, the Director-General Caribbean Regional Negotiating

Machinery (RNM), Ambassador Dr. Richard Bernal, has praised the leadership of Hon. Clement
Rohee, CARICOM Ministerial Spokesperson for WTO issues and Minister of Foreign Trade and
International Cooperation, Guyana. “I commend Minister Rohee for his efforts. Through the
Minister, CARICOM has taken a lead role in coordinating preparations for this meeting”,
Ambassador Bernal remarked.

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In an exclusive interview with RNM UPDATE, Minister Rohee provided further insight as regards
the pending meeting.

RNM UPDATE: What are the objectives of the G90 meeting, and its expected outcomes?

Minister Rohee: “To hammer out a common G90 platform. The G90 is the largest single group of
constituents in the WTO process, a common platform would better enable the Group to leverage
on-going negotiations. It is expected the meeting would enable us to harmonize, as far as
possible, the positions of the G90 constituents in respect of four substantive core issues -
Agriculture; NAMA; Development Issues; and, “Singapore Issues”. Having arrived at this common
platform, we would be able to mainstream it into on-going global trade talks. It is also expected the
meeting will provide for all those involved, including non-G90 members, to find synergies and work
on areas of convergence and divergence”.

RU: Any other notable issues to be taken up at the G90 meeting, outside of the four substantive
core issues?

Minister Rohee: “Initiatives such as the joint letter issued by European Commissioners for Trade
and Agriculture, Pascal Lamy and Franz Fischler, are sure to evoke heated discussion. Let me
take this opportunity to say, I am firmly against the use of the term ‘Round for Free’, as set out in
the Lamy/Fischler letter. It is misleading. I said as much at the recent “mini-ministerial” meeting in
Paris, May 13 to 14. The fact is, we still have to make commitments in other areas. We have no
‘get out of jail free card’ ”.

RU: There are currently efforts underway – in the WTO Doha Round - to strike framework
agreements by July this year, in what ways do you expect the outcome of this meeting to contribute
to this effort?

Minister Rohee: “The expectation is, the platform document coming out of the meeting would be
provisional in nature. It would be further vetted at another G90 meeting, tentatively set for
Mauritius, in the coming weeks. That meeting would be expected to formally adopt the document.
It is on that basis that it would then be submitted, as a formal reflection of G90 positions, to the
WTO. We expect for such a platform document to be incorporated in any Text circulated by the
Chair of the WTO General-Council, in advance of July; when it has widely been touted framework
agreements, encompassing key issues of the Doha Agenda, could be clinched”.

RU: What issues are of priority to CARICOM in the G90?

Minister Rohee: “Several issues are; they include: Agriculture, special products and safeguard,
preferences, Mode IV Services. In addition, in everyone of the four substantive core issues, which
I mentioned earlier, S&DT provisions are critically important”.

RU: How significant is this forum to CARICOM?

Minister Rohee: “The seeds for the G90 meeting were sown at a March meeting of COTED, in
Belize. COTED mandated certain initiatives be carried forward, the G90 meeting being one of

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them. CARICOM has emerged as a group of countries capable of effectively voicing their interests
and building alliances in global trade negotiations, in the last few years”.

The President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, H.E. Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, will be a feature
speaker at the meeting’s opening session. Also expected at the meeting are: the Director-General
of the RNM, the CARICOM Secretary General, a representative of the Organisation of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat, and the Secretary General of the ACP Secretariat. In
addition to G90 members, a senior WTO representative on behalf of the WTO Director-General,
Supachai Panitchpakdi, Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Celso Amorim, European Union (EU)
Commissioner for Trade, Pascal Lamy, United States Trade Representative (USTR), Ambassador
Robert Zoellick, are all scheduled to be in attendance.

CARICOM MINISTERS HIGHLIGHT SECTORAL ISSUES AT UK MEET

At the Fourth UK/Caribbean Forum, held in London, May 10 to 12, the Trade Agenda focused on
WTO Doha Agenda negotiations, Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA), Bananas, Sugar,
Rice, Services and Tourism.

On external trade, in general, there was agreement among Ministers on the need to re-launch the
WTO Doha Round. They welcomed the recent launch of CARIFORUM-EU negotiations for an
EPA. Issues such as S&DT for small and vulnerable economies and the liberalization of the
services sector were also highlighted in the Forum communiqué.

A presentation on Bananas was made by Sir Vincent Beache, Minister of National Security, Airport
Development and the Public Service, St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Foreign Trade, Jamaica, Hon. K.D. Knight, delivered a presentation on Sugar. Minister Rohee
presented on Rice. Services, in particular tourism and financial services, were also considered. A
presentation on financial services was made by Hon. Harold Lovell, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Trade, Tourism and International Transportation, Antigua & Barbuda.

As agreed by Heads of Government of Commonwealth Caribbean countries and the United

Kingdom at their meeting in London, December 2, 2003, the agenda for the Forum focused on the
issues of regional security, international trade policy, the development agenda and HIV/AIDS,
respectively.

The Forum was co-chaired on the UK side by the Rt. Hon Jack Straw M.P, Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and by Mr. Bill Rammell, M.P, the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office Minister responsible for UK-Caribbean relations, and on the Caribbean side by The
Honourable Dame Billie Miller, Senior Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade,
Barbados.

Foreign Ministers from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana,
Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago attended the Forum, as did
National Security Ministers from Jamaica, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the
Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation of Guyana. Suriname was represented at
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Ambassadorial level. Participatory Observers included Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the British
Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the CARICOM)Secretariat and the RNM. Canada, the United
States and several regional, private sector and non-governmental organizations also attended.

The UK-Caribbean Forum is viewed as a platform for high-level dialogue between Britain and the
Caribbean region. The Forum seeks to ‘strengthen’ and ‘institutionalize’ close
relationships/cooperation between the UK and Caribbean countries. Foreign Ministers and senior
officials from the Caribbean meet with UK Ministers, every two years, to take stock of progress on
key issues of concern for the region and the UK. The first Forum was held in Nassau, Bahamas
(1998), the second in London (2000), and the third in Georgetown (2002).

CARICOM TRADE MINISTERS TO MEET WITH ‘US CCC’

Under the auspices of the Inter-American Economic Council (IAEC), CARICOM Trade Ministers
will meet with members of the United States Caribbean Congressional Caucus (CCC) in Miami,
May 23 to 25. The Congresspersons who have confirmed their participation are from Florida, New
Jersey, New York and The Virgin Islands, respectively. The interchange is expected to center on:
i) the status of trade between the United States and the Caribbean; and, ii) ways to strengthen the
relationship, and deepen the level of engagement.

The meeting’s primary goal is to develop a list of five short-term and ten long-term objectives to
improve bilateral relations between the US and CARICOM.

A caucus of CARICOM Ministers is scheduled for May 23. On May 24, welcome remarks will be
delivered by the President of the IAEC, Barry Featherman, and Dame Billie. Subsequently,
Ambassador Bernal will deliver a presentation on the subject ‘S&DT for the Caribbean in the Free
Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)’. Following this presentation, a Congressional Roundtable
session on Caribbean-US Relations is slated to get underway. In the afternoon, private ministerial
meetings with representatives of the USTR Office and Trade Officials from Latin America and the
Caribbean are scheduled. Discussions will be moderated by Ambassador Albert Ramdin, Senior
Advisor to the Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General. On May 25, Ministers
will meet with private sector representatives; the subject under discussion ‘expanding investments
in the Caribbean’.

OECS AUTHORITY MEETING CONVENED

The Thirty-Ninth Meeting of the OECS Heads of Government is taking place in St. Vincent & the
Grenadines, May 20 to 21.

Issues under consideration, at the two-day meeting of Heads, include: the OECS Economic Union
process; plans for the creation of an OECS Business Forum; OECS judicial and legal reform;
economic development; the OECS school system; agriculture; air transportation; energy;
information communication technology; energy resource management; tourism – namely, a

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consideration of proposals for greater collaboration in the yachting sector in the Eastern
Caribbean. External trade negotiations, in which CARICOM is engaged, are also up for review.

The nine OECS Member States are: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica,
Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

BRAZIL CONTINUES TO TOUT MARKET ACCESS AS FOCUS IN AMERICAS-WIDE TRADE

PACT

In remarks to a conference hosted by Hemisphere, Inc., in collaboration with the Council of the
Americas, in Atlanta, Georgia, May 20, the Brazilian Co-Chair of the FTAA Trade Negotiations
Committee (TNC), Ambassador Adhemar Bahadian, called on free trade accords to substantively
center on market access negotiations.

In taking stock of the status of FTAA talks, he concluded the stalemate that has emerged reflects
disparate ‘expectations’, and competing ‘ambitions’. Bahadian underscored that ‘imbalance’ has
been especially apparent because some countries favor certain areas for negotiation, while others
do not. Bridging differences, in this regard, has been a major stumbling block. Areas such as:
Agriculture, Services, Investment, Intellectual Property and anti-dumping, serve as examples of
where divergences on treatment exist. He described the FTAA Miami Ministerial, convened in
November 2003, as a pragmatic turning point. Bahadian acknowledges that the current gridlock
and the reasons why the convening of a FTAA TNC, initially in February, has not been successful
is due, firstly, to difficulties in “redrawing the FTAA architecture”. Namely, parties have thus far
been unable to accommodate respective domestic sensitivities, more so the level of ambition
implicit in that. A second reason Bahadian attributes to “the fact that it takes time for our
bureaucratic minds to accept what is new and result-oriented”.

Lamenting that this perhaps should have been the thrust of hemisphere-wide trade pact talks from
the outset, the Brazilian FTAA Co-Chair appears to be of the mind that progress in the FTAA
hinges on a focus on market access negotiations. Juxtaposed on calls for ‘balance’, ‘flexibility’ and
‘pragmatism’, he maintains it is not too late to adopt this approach. The Brazilian diplomat
highlights that, “Mercosur has already proposed that we should organize three new rounds of
market access negotiations, to overcome paralysis and boost the FTAA process. We aim at a
significant increase in market access conditions for agricultural goods, industrial goods and
services”.

As reported in RNM UPDATE 0407 (May 7, 2004), Minister Knight recently expressed concern
over the outstanding differences in FTAA negotiations. There appears to be growing sentiment
that the TNC level may not be the best platform to deal with the current impasse. An informal
ministerial session, convened under the auspices of the FTAA Ministerial Co-Chairs, might be
more appropriate for the “purpose of resolving, as far as possible, the primary difficulties
contributing to the current deadlock”, by spurring political momentum.

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FTAA TNC CO-CHAIRS TO MEET AGAIN IN JUNE

The FTAA TNC Co-Chairs held consultations in Washington DC, May 21. Sources have revealed,
under consideration was guidance for developing a common and balanced set of rights and
obligations.

In a Joint communiqué, the Co-Chairs acknowledge the need to continue informal consultations.
To this end, they will meet again in early June, with a view to making further progress.

The US and Brazilian TNC Co-Chairs had previously met in Washington DC, April 29 to May 3.
See RNM UPDATE 0407 (“INFORMAL FTAA DELIBERATIONS REVEAL COMPROMISE”) for
details.

The Joint communiqué is available on and can be downloaded from the RNM website
(www.crnm.org)).

UK MINISTERS REAFFIRM SUPPORT TO RNM

At the recently convened Fourth UK/Caribbean Forum, Ministers from the UK confirmed that the
UK “would continue to provide support” to the RNM. This was reflected in the communiqué, issued
at the close of the Forum.

Ambassador Bernal, who attended the three-day meeting, said there was a clear recognition that
the RNM has “a key role in mediating the Caribbean’s encounter with globalization; an important
part of which is negotiating external trade accords”. He emphasized, “the RNM is helping to shape
the rules that govern the global economy and regulate the process of globalization, on behalf of the
Caribbean”.

Emerging from the Forum was a pledge by Ministers that the UK would assist Caribbean countries
in attaining the “benefits of international trade”. This was juxtaposed in the context that CARICOM
countries are in the challenging situation of simultaneously negotiating in the WTO, FTAA, and the
CARIFORUM-EU EPA, respectively.

HIGH-LEVEL ACP AND ACP-EU MEETINGS IN BOTSWANA: A REVIEW

The Seventy-Ninth Session of the Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Council of Ministers and the
Twenty-Ninth ACP-EU Council of Ministers, respectively, were held in Gaborone, Botswana, in
early May.

ACP Ministers adopted a number of important decisions and resolutions related to the review of the
Cotonou Agreement, negotiations regarding EPAs and other matters.

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ACP Ministers agreed to formally launch negotiations for the review of the Cotonou Agreement
during the Twenty-Ninth Session of ACP-EU Council of Ministers, in keeping with the provisions of
Article 95 of the Cotonou Agreement on the review of its provisions before the expiry of each five-
year period during its existence. Ministers also agreed that EPA negotiations at the all ACP-EU
level will continue on issues of common interest.

The Meeting received a report from Minister Rohee, in his capacity as CARICOM Ministerial
Spokesperson on WTO negotiations. The report considered the convening of a Ministerial meeting
of selected members of the G90 in Guyana, June 3 to 4, to draw up a common G90 platform. The
Meeting agreed to examine the draft document provided to the meeting, by CARICOM, in order to
update the ACP position in relation to the on-going work under the Doha Work Programme.

The Fourth Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government, which takes place in Maputo,
Mozambique, June 21 to 24, provides a further opportunity for dialogue and exchanges on these
and other issues of common interest to ACP countries.

CARICOM was represented at Ministerial level by Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and
Tobago and Haiti, and at Ambassadorial level by the OECS and Suriname. RNM Senior Director,
Mr. Henry Gill, represented the Machinery.

WTO BRIEFING

At a recently concluded “mini-ministerial”, convened in Paris, Minister Rohee underscored that

development has to be at the core of the WTO’s Doha Round.

Minister Rohee also highlighted the significance to CARICOM of S&DT. He stressed the
importance of recognizing the vulnerabilities of Small Developing Economies. In addition, he
expressed the region’s continued concern with the erosion of preferences.

On May 13, Minister Rohee held separate consultations with Ministers from Hong Kong and
Canada, respectively, and with Commissioner Lamy.

The “mini-ministerial” meeting took place on the margins of the annual Ministerial Council of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), May 13 to 14. The “mini-
ministerial” was intended to give impetus to Doha Round talks. At issue was advancing efforts to
clinch framework agreements, encompassing key issues of the Doha Agenda, by July this year.

Ambassador Bernal, who accompanied Minister Rohee to the “mini-ministerial”, signaled there was
now renewed commitment to reach agreement on key issues by July. “There are signs that
countries have re-evaluated their positions since Cancún, and are now prepared to show greater
flexibility”, he said.

Immediately preceding the “mini-ministerial”, a joint letter on the WTO Doha Agenda was issued
by the European Commissioners for Trade and Agriculture, to their WTO Member counterparts. It

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outlined what the EU views as key areas in which progress is needed if concord is to be reached
on a Framework Agreement, by July this year. The letter focuses on: Agriculture, non-Agricultural
Market Access (NAMA), Services, the “Singapore Issues” (i.e. Investment and Competition rules,
Trade Facilitation and transparency in Government Procurement), and ‘development questions’.
The joint letter sets out a series of concessions and offers – for select areas under the DDA –
meant to narrow gaps on points of contention. CARICOM welcomed this EU initiative to revive
global trade talks. Ambassador Bernal previously hailed the EU initiative as “a positive
development for the beleaguered Doha Round”. He said it constitutes an important gesture,
especially to developing countries, as regards the EU’s commitment to providing impetus to
problematic negotiating areas that are contributing to gridlock in global trade talks. “CARICOM is
in the process of carefully considering the initiative and the flexibilities it presents; generally
speaking, the joint letter is revealing and helpful, both in its tone and substance”, Dr. Bernal stated.

NEWS BRIEFS

‘Barbados+10’ postponed

An international meeting for the ten-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action for the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), originally scheduled for
Mauritius, August 30 to September 3 of this year, has been delayed. Reportedly, the Government
of Mauritius requested the postponement.

In 1994, the United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of SIDS was held
in Barbados; subsequently adopting the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA).

G20/Cairns Group Drafting Agric Text

A key decision was taken on the occasion of the May 13 to 14 “mini-ministerial”, in Paris, on
advancing talks in the area of agricultural market access. At the close of the meeting, it was
revealed that the G20 and the Cairns Group will collectively work to draft a proposal on agricultural
market access, with a view to presenting it at an early June meeting of the WTO’s negotiating
group on Agriculture.

Reportedly, Brazilian representatives have signaled that this joint initiative might be stymied by the
recent election of a new government in India. Informed sources have indicated, Indian
representatives now maintain that the new government needs additional time to study the proposal
on agricultural market access. In a related development, sources have revealed that the EU and
US will likely relinquish a joint EU-US plan for tariff cuts as regards farm trade talks. The proposal
for a hybrid formula had previously met with resistance, especially from the G20.

Agricultural trade reform has been a major stumbling block for multilateral trade liberalization
negotiations. Progress in this area is critical to breaking the logjam in the Doha Round.

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WTO Chief Optimistic about Progress in Doha Round

In mid-May, WTO chief Panitchpakdi characterized Doha Round talks as poised for “historic
breakthrough”. He had previously cautioned the ‘window of opportunity was closing’. Panitchpakdi
has indicated, however, that the anticipated July framework agreements need not be as detailed as
those which WTO Members attempted, unsuccessfully, to craft at the collapsed Fifth WTO
Ministerial Conference, last September. In remarks to a General Council meeting convened to
take stock of progress in Doha Round talks, May 17, the WTO chief said, “if the signs of flexibility
and convergence that have emerged from the recent political-level discussions can be continued
and translated into substantive progress in our Geneva process, I believe we have a very good
chance of achieving our objectives in July”.

RNM meets with INTERREG reps

RNM Senior Director, Mr. Henry Gill, hosted a team of INTERREG representatives visiting the
RNM, at its Barbados office, May 18. They engaged in an exchange-of-views.

INTERREG’s general objective is to “foster transnational cooperation between the Euroregion

(Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana) and their close geographical and political
environment in the Caribbean/Americas, as well as the Ultraperipheral Regions (Azores, Madeira,
Canaries, Reunion)”. INTERREG is tasked with enabling the countries of the area to share
experiences, and therefore increase cooperation. Claudy Alie, Head of the INTERREG
Secretariat, led the team that met with Mr. Gill. INTERREG’s website is www.interreg-caraibes.org

Rohee to Participate in WTO Forum

Minister Rohee is expected to participate in a WTO Public Symposium, entitled: ‘Multilateralism at

a Crossroads’, in Geneva, May 25 to 27.

UPCOMING EVENTS

May 24 to 29: ‘EU-LAC Summit meetings and related meetings’, Guadalajara, Mexico

May 25 to 27: ‘WTO/INTAL/CARICOM Regional Workshop on Non-Agricultural Market

Access Negotiations for CARICOM countries’, Barbados

CARICOM-Canada Trade Pact Talks in Focus

A meeting of the ‘CARICOM Exploratory Group on CARICOM-Canada Trade Negotiations’ is

scheduled to meet in Barbados, May 28. The meeting will consider an update on discussions
between CARICOM and Canada, on the scope and elements of negotiations. Amongst other items
on the agenda, there will be a consideration of CARICOM approaches and interests regarding a
number of negotiating areas.

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For More Information Contact:

Nand C. Bardouille
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery
3rd Floor, The Mutual Building, Hastings Main Road, Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados
Tel: (246) 430-1678
FAX: (246) 228-9528

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