Improving the Capacity of CARICOM Member States to Develop Services and Investment Liberalisation Offers

The experience of CARICOM in negotiating comprehensive commitments on services and investment with Third Parties underscored the importance of developing capacity within the Member States to map and catalogue their regulatory status quo. In this regard, a consultancy reviewed legislative and regulatory instruments pertaining to a limited number of selected services and non-services sectors (12  sectors in total) identified as priorities by the 14 Member States with a view of identifying existing measures that do not conform to certain obligations under international agreements.  

The non-confirming measures identified have been principally classified as discriminatory measures.  The review will put Member States in a better position to determine the extent to which they should commit to liberalisation of services and investment in negotiations with trading partners. This is especially relevant given that 14 CARICOM Member States have committed to the built-in agendas for services and investment in the CARIFORUM-EU and CARIFORUM-UK EPAs and in bilateral trade agreements with Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.  

The direct beneficiaries of this intervention are public officials responsible for foreign trade, regulatory agencies, and the private sector.