COTEDPress Releases

OFFICIALS FINE-TUNE AGENDA FOR EIGHTH MEETING OF COTED

A range of matters aimed at quickening the pace of, and strengthening the regional integration process in facing-up to the challenges in the new Century will be covered by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) officials when they meet in Georgetown on the 4-5 February, 2000 to prepare for the Eighth Ministerial Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).

The Ministerial Meeting takes place at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown on 7- 8 February, 2000.

The officials will fine-tune a number of agenda items including matters relating to the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. Developments in trade, sustainable development, the services, industrial, and agricultural sectors are also on the two-day agenda.

With regard to the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, the focus will be on the finalisation of Protocols VIII and IX, which deal with disputes settlement, and rules of competition, subsidies and dumping, and consumer protection respectively. These are the last two of the series of Protocols revising the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which are to be signed by CARICOM Heads of Government.

A status report on the completion of the signing of Protocols III to VII will be a point of discussion for the COTED Meeting. These Protocols address industrial, trade, agricultural, and transport policies, as well as approaches dealing with disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors.

Delegates will also look at a progress report on the implementation of Protocol II, which addresses the right of establishment, the right to provide services and the right to move capital.

Matters concerning the Common External Tariff (CET), including the implementation of the final stage of a programme for the phased reduction of the CET, the Common Market Rules of Origin, and recommendations from the Customs Committee on a number of issues, will dominate trade agenda items.

In the services sector, some of the main areas of focus are, critical policy issues in Caribbean tourism, developments in telecommunications in the Caribbean, and opportunities and challenges of e-commerce for regional trade. Issues relating to the establishment of an intellectual property rights regime will also be examined by the region’s representatives.

With regard to industry and agriculture, delegates will look at matters relating to the establishment of a Caribbean Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), industrial standards for rice and brewery products, and receive a status report on the CARICOM Fisheries Assessment and Management Programme (CFRAMP).

An update on the negotiations of the CARICOM/Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, and matters of sustainable development including support for the sustainable management of the Caribbean Sea, are also agenda items for the COTED meeting.

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