The EU proposed the EPA to replace its existing perferential trade deal with ACP nations

This appeal has come from the chair of the Pacific group of trade ministers of the wider African, Caribbean And Pacific (ACP) group.

The call from the Pacific region of the ACP reflects wider interest in the controversial Caribbean debate over its EPA signing last week.

All but two Caricom member states signed the trade deal on October 15, after months of intense negotiation and debate on the benefits of the EPA to the region.

Guyana which maintained that the trade deal will put the region at a disadvantage, finally signed the agreement on October 21.

Haiti, meanwhile, has said that recent hurricanes had delayed completion of public and private sector consultations.

The government in Port-au-Prince also has reservations over some of the EPA's provisions.

Strength in numbers

Pacific trade ministers meeting in Fiji are this week discussing the progress of EPA negotiations with the EU as well as new trade deals with Australia and New Zealand.

"We must not allow our regional unity to be derailed by the short term gains which go against the grain of our long-term objectives.

"Our strength is in our numbers, by speaking with one voice and it would also be a reflection of our ethical and moral commitment to be steadfast in holding our region together in these challenging times," host minister Ratu Epeli Nailatikau said.

(Implementing the EPA will be ) more difficult than the negotiations Henry Gill, CRNM Director

Caribbean analyst David Jessop in his weekly column raised the concern that 'two Caribbeans' could emerge, as a result of the widespread debate in the run up to the signing of the agreement.

"Setting aside the character assassination, suggestions that Caribbean Heads had agreed a flawed document, letters questioning the role of senior figures and damaging inter-institutional rivalry, what is clear is that a more fundamental philosophical divide has emerged in the context of the EPA over the direction in which the region and its integration process is headed," Mr Jessop said.

Making it work

The agency responsible for negotiating trade deals for Caricom says the Economic Partnership Agreement will be good for the region.

The Caricom Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), said the agreement signed last week with the European Union "is expected to stimulate sustainable development by helping countries to export more and thereby increase business opportunities, employment and economic growth" .

The CRNM stresses that the deal, signed in Barbados on October 15, is WTO compatible.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) last year shut down a previous preferential trade agreement with the EU on the grounds that the 'preferential access' it gave to Caribbean countries violated global free trade rules.

The CRNM's Director-General, Ambassador Henry Gill, has cautioned that implementing the EPA "will certainly be more difficult than the negotiations", according to a CRNM statement.

He advised the region's private sector to devise their own implementation plans.

EU: EPA good for Caribbean

The EU Development Commissioner, Louis Michel, said in a statement that the EPA was "a groundbreaking step forward for regional integration and development for the Caribbean.

"This deal creates new opportunities for the region in terms of stronger growth and exports, and more jobs," he added.

The European Commission, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of the 27-nation EU, said that the agreement offers "up front access" to EU markets while allowing Caribbean nations to gradually open their markets over 25 years.

The EC said it had reached interim trade agreements with about half of the 77 African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries so far.

However, until the Caribbean deal none had been officially signed.

Some don't agree

Meanwhile UK-based charity Oxfam has accused the European Union of betraying the Caribbean's development goals with the EPA.

Oxfam and other NGO's have been critical of the EU, over its handling of negotiations for new trade pacts with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

They contend that the agreement forces the former colonies to open up their markets to unfair competition.

The agency responsible for negotiating trade deals for Caricom says the Economic Partnership Agreement will be good for the region.

The CRNM said the agreement signed last week with the European Union “is expected to stimulate sustainable development by helping countries to export more and thereby increase business opportunities, employment and economic growth."

	The EU says the EPA will increase Caribbean trade

The CRNM stresses that the deal, signed in Barbados on October 15, is WTO-compatible.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) last year ruled on the shutdown of a previous preferential trade ACP agreement with the EU on the grounds that the ‘preferential access’ it gave to Caribbean countries violated global free trade rules.

Now comes the tough bit

The CRNM’s Director-General, Ambassador Henry Gill, has cautioned that implementing the EPA “will certainly be more difficult than the negotiations,” according to a CRNM statement.

He advised the region’s private sector to devise their own implementation plans.

Ambassador Gill further explained that national implementation units which will be charged with the responsibility of carrying out national EPA implementation plans must be quickly established.

For its part, the government of Haiti has requested more time to review the Agreement.

Speaking at the signing, the Barbados Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Chris Sinckler said: “Our task now is to set in motion a process at both regional and national levels to create effective mechanisms and structures to take advantage of the opportunities which this EPA presents.”

	Chris Sinckler says the EPA offers "advantages"

The pact marks the first complete agreement with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, which have had to renegotiate previous preferential regimes with the EU after they were rejected by the World Trade Organisation.

EU: EPA good for Caribbean

The EU Development Commissioner, Louis Michel, said in a statement that the EPA was "a groundbreaking step forward for regional integration and development for the Caribbean.

"This deal creates new opportunities for the region in terms of stronger growth and exports, and more jobs," he added.

The European Commission, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of the 27-nation EU, said that the agreement offers "up front access" to EU markets while allowing Caribbean nations to gradually open their markets over 25 years.

The EC said it had reached interim trade agreements with about half of the 77 African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries so far.

However, until the Caribbean deal, none had been officially signed.