(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Bahamas is pursuing a value added trade strategy. Authorities are seeking to more intensively position the country as a hub in global value chains, in the first instance drawing on, thereby better integrating, production networks across regional states in order to source primary and intermediate inputs for further production and export. The Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM)-European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) figures prominently, in this regard.
The Hon. Ryan Pinder, Minister of Financial Services of The Bahamas, expressed this view during the opening on May 29 of a Validation Meeting in Nassau, The Bahamas, the purpose of which was for a cross section of stakeholders to consider the draft Bahamas National EPA Implementation Plan.
Over forty participants were on hand at the Validation Meeting, drawn from national public/private sector and civil society institutions. In addition to the consultant retained to develop the Implementation Plan, Staff of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat-based EPA Implementation Unit and Bahamian counterparts also attended.
Participants welcomed the draft Implementation Plan, and in what was an especially interactive session they provided feedback. Deliberations, led by the consultant, centered on the specific actions to be taken to achieve compliance, in addition to resources required for implementation and strategies for meeting resource gaps. Some participants undertook to provide further feedback, following the meeting, for incorporation into the document.
The final Bahamas National EPA Implementation Plan is slated to be submitted to the Government next month. Focal points within the Ministry of Financial Services would be responsible for ensuring that the Plan is realized. Soon after the Plan has been submitted to and once approved by Government, the intention is to have in place a more structured coordination mechanism with respect to the implementation of the EPA.
In this regard, authorities have signaled their intention to move forward with the establishment of the EPA Implementation Unit within the Ministry of Financial Services. The Regional EPA Implementation Unit has registered its commitment to continue to extend technical guidance and assistance to EPA focal points in The Bahamas, as they proceed to give effect to the Implementation Plan.
The Validation Meeting is a crucial step in the finalization of that Plan, which was recently produced, and the consultancy that spearheaded its formulation was made possible through funding under the Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTFund). The consultancy commenced in March of this year, and it has been informed by a consultative process in the period since.
In his address to the Validation Meeting, Minister Pinder took the opportunity to reaffirm his support for the development of the National EPA Implementation Plan and especially underscored the “tremendous potential” for The Bahamas in leveraging global value chains and the opportunities the EPA presents for the country to realize that potential.
Global value chains have risen to prominence over the last ten-plus years, and refer to the international organization of production (including post-production marketing and distribution) that is increasingly dispersed across countries. One important effect of the segmentation of the production process across countries has been specialization, within given countries, in process-related upstream and/or downstream activities.
Minister Pinder pointed to several strengths The Bahamas has that can work to its advantage with respect to leveraging of global value chains, so as to spur competitiveness, export performance and economic growth. In this regard, he called attention to the fact that The Bahamas has long been one of the world’s principal international financial centers. The Minister also noted his country’s free trade zone potential. “Freeport, Grand Bahama is a 230-square-mile free trade zone that serves as an important hub for international business, one with significant potential for further growth,” he underscored. He pointed to the capacity for export-oriented manufacturing and assembly operations on Grand Bahama, too.
Minister Pinder also spoke of the important role The Bahamas can play in scaling up regional efforts to link production to logistics in the contemporary global trade environment, namely by harnessing the country’s strategic location in relation to major international trade routes. In this regard, he noted that the Freeport Container Port — based on the island of Grand Bahama — is widely recognized as one of the world’s major transshipment hubs with world-class facilities. “We are strategically located in major shipping lanes, and the Freeport Container Port is capable of handling the largest container vessels; which is important, considering efforts to expand the Panama Canal,” Minister Pinder said. “Indeed Freeport is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world, and the deepest in the region,” he noted further.
“The Bahamas is planning for opportunities associated with global value chains, and in this regard is actively positioning itself to capitalize on the strengths I have identified,” Minister Pinder concluded, adding that, “we are creating a new, progressive business model in keeping with our globalized world, in order for us to take full advantage of outbound opportunities, as opposed to fixating on supposed in-bound threats.”
On Thursday, the team from the Regional EPA Implementation Unit and Bahamian counterparts met with representatives of national professional associations representing engineers, accountants and architects, respectively. These consultations discussed licensing, registration and related matters toward the negotiation of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs), following which a more wide-ranging sensitization consultation is scheduled with representatives of national civil society.
The fifteen signatory CARIFORUM States to the EPA are the independent CARICOM Member States and the Dominican Republic.
CONTACT:
Nand C. Bardouille Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Implementation Unit
nbardouille@caricom.org
