This week and next week will determine whether Cariforum, which represents the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic, will sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU).

The region has up until December 31 to sign the agreement, which is the successor pact to the non-reciprocal preferential trade regimes of the Cotonou Agreement and its predecessor, the Lomé Convention, which have governed European Union (EU)/African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) trade for more than three decades.

A technical working group of Cariforum is currently meeting in Barbados this week to fine-tune negotiations on market access to be offered to the EU.

Removal of tariffs

In May, the EU had offered to remove all existing tariffs and quota limitations on goods and services from all ACP countries, equalising its offer of concessions to poor countries under the Everything But Arms Agreement. But to date the region is yet to respond to this offer.

The Gleaner, however, understands that the group will finalise the Cariforum position on market access, which will also be used in the final negotiations later this month and early December.

Commenting on the looming deadline to sign the EPAs, Dr. Richard Bernal, head of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery, who is lead negotiator for CARICOM, said while the region would try to conclude negotiations, it will not sacrifice signing an agreement, which will not be beneficial to the region in order to meet the EU's deadline.

"It is still possible to complete the negotiations and every effort will be made to do so. However, at this stage it is going to be a difficult task," he said. "We will not sacrifice the agreement to meet any given schedule. The negotiations will end when the region is satisfied with the outcome."

Seeking flexibility

Meanwhile, over the week, CARICOM Heads of Government while attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, lobbied the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown to encourage the Europeans to be more flexible.

According to a release from the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), the regional leaders also emphasised the development component of the (EPAs) and reaffirmed their resolve that no country should be worse off than they were under previous agreements.

The U.K. Prime Minister, however, assured the Caribbean heads that there was "no diminution of British interest" in the region and that his government would work with them in furtherance of their development goals.