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Chamber Identify Key Issues for Cancun Meeting


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Contact: Primus Hutchinson
 

Guy Mayers - Ambassador
 Edwin Laurent


Thursday, August 28, 2003 - As St. Lucia prepares for the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organisation WTO in Cancun-Mexico September 10-14, 2003, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation, Cosmos Richardson has identified some of the more sensitive areas that need to be thoroughly examined leading up to the Cancun meeting. Richardson was at the time addressing an in-country seminar organised by the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, dubbed “ On the Road to Cancun?, is tomorrow too late?”
 

Cosmos Richardson


The two day seminar was attended by representatives of both the private and public sector of St. Lucia, the OECS and St. Lucia’s representatives at the WTO Dr. Kathy Ann Brown. According to Richardson, agriculture remains an issue of vital importance since the preservation of the value attached to preferential arrangements continues to be critical concern for St. Lucia and the other small island states.

Richardson identified market access as another sensitive area, particularly the process and the formula used for tariff reduction including the time frame, particularly given to these countries heavily dependent on revenue on international trade taxes.

“ Services is another area we frequently mentioned, the service issue, the question of small service suppliers is very important for us, given the preponderance of small firms in our economy.” Richardson said.

President of the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Guy Mayers called for resistance to what has been dubbed the “Singapore Issues.” Mayers explained that some developing countries and in particular the European Union are pressing for negotiations on these issues, which include competition policy, investment, transparency in government procurements and trade facilitation.


“We must resist this. How can we enter negotiations on new areas while we have not even been able to implement existing agreements? I agree with the sentiments that the Cancun Agenda is already ambitious and that progress should be made on existing agreement such as agriculture before the introduction of new proposals.” Mayers said.

During the two day meeting, Permanent Representative of Saint Lucia to the WTO in Geneva, Ambassador Edwin Laurent spoke on Saint Lucia’s interest in the Doha Development Round.

Other key personnel who attended the in-country seminar were CARICOM’s representaive Byron Blake, Senior Economic Advisor at the OECS, Andrew Satney and Saint Lucia’s representative at the WTO, Dr. Kathy Ann Brown.


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