Elizabeth Morgan | Latest developments with Samoa Agreement and other matters

This month, a number of meetings of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the related Caribbean OACPS Forum (CARIFORUM) are scheduled. These are related to the implementation of the new EU/OACPS Samoa Agreement, implementation of the CARIFORUM/EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the upcoming WTO 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), and the administration of the OACPS and CARIFORUM.

IMPLEMENTING THE SAMOA AGREEMENT

In spite of all the controversy, it is reported that up to January, 65 of the 79 OACPS members had signed the agreement. Those still not signing are: Cuba, Dominica, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Madagascar, Maldives, Nauru, Nigeria, Saint Lucia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tuvalu.

Surprisingly, Namibia signed the agreement, while religious groups are now calling for Ethiopia, which signed in November, to withdraw. Recent reports indicate that Guyana is in discussions with the EU with a view to signing. With all 27 EU members signing and 65 from the OACPS, the new Samoa Agreement is now being provisionally applied.

The OACPS and its regional bodies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific will now be looking at structures for implementing the regional protocols. Those countries that have not signed cannot participate in the bodies of the Samoa Agreement, such as council meetings and parliamentary sessions.

Meetings of the Joint OACPS/EU Parliamentary Assembly and joint Regional Parliamentary Assemblies are scheduled to be held February 19-21.

CARIFORUM

The Bahamas, Senator the Hon Michael Halkitis, Minister of Economic Affairs, is the current chair of CARIFORUM up to June. I understand that a special meeting of the CARIFORUM Council of Ministers was held on Monday, February 12.

I assume that among the matters on the agenda would have been signing of the Samoa Agreement, as five members are still to sign. They would also have discussed administrative matters and commencing the implementation of the regional protocol.

In addition, the 11th Summit of OACPS members is due in 2025. The Caribbean has not hosted a summit since the Dominican Republic hosted the 2nd Summit in November 1999. Suriname withdrew from hosting the 8th Summit in 2014. It is again on the table for a CARIFORUM country to host the 11th Summit.

CARIFORUM AND EPAS

The CARIFORUM/EU EPA, which was signed in October 2008, marked its 15th anniversary last year. A European Commission report online states that on trade in goods, “The EU is CARIFORUM’s third largest trading partner overall. In 2022, total trade in goods between the two regions was over EUR19.8 billion. Caribbean exports to the EU amounted to €12 billion and exceeded imports, which stood at €7.8 billion. This represents a 173 per cent increase in exports and a 26 per cent growth in imports over 2021. To put it into context, CARIFORUM exports to the EU experienced an initial downward trend immediately after the EPA was implemented. However, since 2016 they have shown strong recovery, particularly in 2021 and 2022.”

I think this goods trade would have to be analysed to see which CARIFORUM countries are actually increasing trade with the EU27. It seems to me that much of the EU’s imports is petroleum and petroleum products from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

Jamaica’s exports to the EU are not looking so healthy. As Jamaica has reduced its tariffs on goods from the EU, such as motor vehicles, imports have been increasing.

On services, the EC reports states: “Services remain the competitive advantage for CARIFORUM states, and account for as much as 75 per cent of GDP for some countries. This is reflected in CARIFORUM – EU trade by the value of trade in services exceeding the value of trade in goods in many years. CARIFORUM service exports to the EU increased steadily over the years from €2.9 billion in 2013 to a pinnacle of €59.7 billion just before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. EU services exports to CARIFORUM are not as robust, moving from EUR 2.3 billion in 2013 to €3.2 billion in 2021, with a peak of €6.2 billion in 2018.”

It seems to me that this services trade from CARIFORUM could be mainly in tourism. I do not believe that CARIFORUM countries have been able to take full advantage of the services provisions in the EPA.

The five-year review of the EPA, which has been due for a while, may be held this year.

Recalling that there are now two EPAs, one with the EU and the other with the United Kingdom (UK), it is noted that the first meeting of the UK/CARIFORUM EPA Joint Council was held electronically in December 2023.

OACPS AND WTO

The OACPS has been an active interest group in the WTO and will be working on advancing its positions, including on fisheries subsidies, agriculture, reform, and development related issues, in the MC13 to be held in the United Arab Emirates, February 26-29. The group is now chaired by Samoa.

An extraordinary meeting of the OACPS Ministers of Trade is scheduled for February 16 in preparation for MC13.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com