This capacity-building initiative under the National EPA Coordinator Attachment Programme will run from July 21-25 and is organised by the CARIFORUM Directorate within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat. Funded under the 11th European Development Fund Technical Cooperation Facility, it aims to enhance Member States’ capacity to effectively implement the EPA and leverage CARIFORUM’s trade relationship with the European Union.

During the week-long attachment, Mr. Wagner will learn more about the EPA and the operations of the EPA Implementation Unit through engagements with the specialists in Trade in Goods, Investment and Trade in Services and EPA Development Cooperation.

Since its inception in 2024, trade officials from St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Guyana and The Bahamas have participated in the National EPA Coordinator Attachment Programme. Through their attachment, it is hoped that EPA Coordinators will gain exposure to different EPA implementation structures, work plans, challenges, consultative processes, and practices, exchange information on national implementation actions and challenges and explore ways to address these challenges.

It is also anticipated that EPA Coordinators will identify methods to advance EPA implementation, build networks and connections for future collaboration and acquire new insights into problem-solving to enhance EPA implementation.

About The CARIFORUM-EU EPA:

The EPA between CARIFORUM States and the EU and its Member States was signed on October 15, 2008. It aims to liberalise trade between 15 CARIFORUM States and 27 EU countries on a reciprocal but asymmetrical basis.
This comprehensive trade and development agreement covers:

1. Market Access for Industrial and Agricultural products;
2. Services and Investment;
3. Trade-related issues such as competition policy, the environment, transparency in government procurement, innovation and intellectual property, social aspects, and personal data protection;
4. Development cooperation;
5. Legal and institutional issues.

The event, scheduled for 16-17 July 2025 at the Caribbean Development Bank’s headquarters in Barbados, will bring together over fifty participants from CARIFORUM States, the French Caribbean Outermost Regions (FCORs) and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). Regional organisations, private sector and civil society representatives have also been invited.

The Consultation is taking place against the backdrop of significant developments since the last regional engagement in 2019. These include the recalibration of the Caribbean-European Union (EU) partnership via the Samoa Agreement, the radically different mechanisms for development assistance and BREXIT.

Director General of CARIFORUM, Ms. Alexis Downes-Amsterdam, indicated that the implications of those and other developments for wider Caribbean cooperation were considered at a CARIFORUM Consultation in September 2024.

Ms. Downes-Amsterdam affirms that this Consultation is timely since CARIFORUM is examining frameworks to guide the implementation of the Caribbean-EU Protocol under the Samoa Agreement and the Protocol addresses the relationship with the FCORs and the OCTs.

The opening of the Regional Consultation will include a feature address by the Honourable Mr. Kerrie Symmonds, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Barbados.

The CARIFORUM Director General and representatives of the Chair of CARIFORUM, Dominica and the European Union Delegation in Barbados will also deliver remarks at the opening ceremony.

Funding for the consultation is provided by the EU under the 11th European Union Development Fund (EDF) Regional Technical Cooperation Facility: a regional initiative being implemented by the CARIFORUM Directorate to promote Wider Caribbean cooperation.

Chair of the Committee, Director General of CARIFORUM, Ms. Alexis Downes-Amsterdam expressed gratitude to the European Commission for its continued support for the CARIFORUM Directorate to deliver important coordination and advisory services to Member States.

Mr. Felipe De la Mota, Team Leader, Regional Cooperation and Trade at the Delegation of the EU to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and CARIFORUM reiterated the EU’s commitment to the successful execution of the Programme.

Since its creation in 1992, CARIFORUM has been mainly supported by the EU. The “Support to CARIFORUM in effective implementation of the CARIFORUM-EU EPA, regional coordination on trade and EU cooperation” Programme maintains that support up to May 2027. It allows CARIFORUM to build on the results obtained under previous programmes, including for the implementation of the CARIFORUM-EU EPA.

The Programme also assists in coordinating the trading and cooperation relationship with the European Union through technical capacity building, improving regional coordination and increasing awareness of the EPA.

The Bahamas was the first country to benefit from the initiative, with a webinar held on 27 June that featured the CARIFORUM Export Potential Map, a tool to identify market opportunities and requirements for exporting to the UK and the EU markets.

In delivering opening remarks, Ms. Alexis Downes Amsterdam, Director General of CARIFORUM, reminded that the EPAs aim to make it easier for people and businesses from both regions to trade with each other.

She noted that strengthening trade intelligence collection and dissemination is required to provide economic operators, including SMEs, and trade advisors, with comprehensive and up-to-date information.

In her remarks, Ms. Brickell Pinder, Director of Trade and Industry, and National EPA Coordinator of the Bahamas, thanked the CARIFORUM Directorate for the timely initiative and noted that information provided during the webinar can assist the Bahamas in the development of its national trade policy.

Market intelligence tools are online portals managed by organisations such as the International Trade Centre, the European Commission and UK Government. These portals provide valuable information on trade statistics, national laws, trade agreements, product originating criteria, documentation requirements, among other areas.

This information is especially useful for exporters, researchers and marketing professionals, tertiary education institutions, industry associations, Chambers of Commerce, Coalitions of Service Industries, companies, export promotion agencies, Ministries and other government agencies.

The mission was headed by Ms. Alexis Downes-Amsterdam, Director General of CARIFORUM, and was undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Barbados. The CARIFORUM team also included representatives from the EU EPA and UK EPA Programmes.

During the visit, the team engaged a cross-section of national stakeholders including representatives of key government agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Ministry of Agriculture, Customs and Excise Department and business support organisations.

Discussions focused on the administrative and legal measures required for Barbados to fully implement the agreements and implementation challenges. The CARIFORUM team provided technical guidance on advancing the required measures and addressing the challenges.

The CARIFORUM Directorate’s targeted support was also intended to ensure that Barbados is not only compliant with its EPA obligations but also equipped to translate market access into market presence and tangible long-term economic opportunities. Support to CARIFORUM States includes technical assistance to advance priority measures, targeted capacity building to boost export readiness and institutional strengthening to help CARIFORUM States maximise the opportunities available under the Agreements.

Signed in 2008, the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM countries and the European Union is a fundamental cornerstone in this relationship to boost trade and investment between the two regions.

The CARIFORUM-UK EPA was signed in 2021 with the aim of maintaining the trading relationship between CARIFORUM States and the United Kingdom post-BREXIT.

Ms. Downes Amsterdam expressed gratitude to the EU for its continued support and commitment to CARIFORUM’s development agenda. She underscored the importance of ensuring that the Wider Caribbean programme activities were on track and delivering the expected results.

Ms. Arias Fernandez highlighted the necessity of achieving tangible outcomes as the Programme’s implementation period nears its conclusion.

The Committee’s membership includes the CARIFORUM Directorate, the European Union, and implementing partners such as the Caribbean Policy Development Centre, the Regional Council of Guadeloupe and the University of the West Indies. Representatives of the CARIFORUM troika and the Dominican Republic also make up the Committee.

Commencing in 2021, the 11th EDF Wider Caribbean Cooperation Programme comprises four components fostering intra-CARIFORUM and wider Caribbean cooperation among CARICOM/CARIFORUM, French Caribbean Outermost Regions (FCORs), Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) cooperation, and Intra CARIFORUM cooperation.

Key activities under the Programme include initiatives to deepen and strengthen regional cooperation, capacity building workshops for civil society organisations to improve representation, technical studies to mitigate the negative impact of sargussum seaweed in the Caribbean, promote sustainable agriculture and the development of renewable energies, internship programmes and mobility programmes to promote cooperation amongst academic institutions in the Region.

Director General of CARIFORUM, Ms. Alexis Downes- Amsterdam attended the inaugural meeting of the Technical Oversight Committee of the TTBT Phase III Programme, shared CARIFORUM’s expectations and thanked the EU for its continued support.

Funding for this Project is drawn from the Caribbean Regional Multi-Annual Indicative Programme (2021-2027), under the EU’s new financing instrument, the Neighbourhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) that facilitates technical and financial support to developing countries for sustainable development, peace and stability.

The goal of the TBT Project is to strengthen the use of an internationally recognised Regional Quality Infrastructure (RQI) by regional and national quality institutions in CARIFORUM States such as the Bureau of Standards and the private sector, to support interregional and international trade.

Signed in 2008, the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM countries and the EU is a fundamental cornerstone in this relationship to boost trade and investment between the two regions. Despite support for implementation of the Agreement, challenges remain at national levels, due to limited capacities.

The TBT Project is therefore supporting the establishment of quality infrastructure including standardisation, testing, inspection and certification of products and services to ensure they are safe and of high quality.

Representing the CARIFORUM Directorate at the Eighth Meeting of the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee, Trade in Services and Investment Specialist, Mr. Akil Yearwood briefed participants on the Five-Year Review and its potential benefits for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as the significance of the joint statements issued by the Consultative Committee.

The discussions in The Bahamas also highlighted the role of the EPA in ensuring the maintenance of international labour standards and explored ways to enhance labour protections and foster closer collaboration between CARIFORUM and the EU.

Additionally, the discussions underscored, among other things, the importance of addressing trade challenges faced by CARIFORUM, boosting SME support, and strengthening cooperation to maximize the EPA’s mutual benefits.

The CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee was established under the EPA to promote dialogue and cooperation on economic, social, and environmental aspects of the EPA. It comprises 25 civil society organisations from CARIFORUM and 15 from the EU spanning academia, employer organizations, trade unions, labor bodies, financial institutions, and business entities.

One of the Committee’s mandates is to make recommendations to the CARIFORUM-EU Trade and Development Committee as well as the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council to ensure the effective functioning of the Agreement.

Signed on 15 October 2008, the CARIFORUM-EU EPA aims to enhance trade and investment between 15 CARIFORUM States and 27 EU countries through a reciprocal but asymmetrical framework.

This comprehensive free trade and development agreement covers market access for industrial and agricultural goods; services and investment; and trade-related matters such as competition policy, procurement, innovation, intellectual property, transparency and social and environmental matters.

Mr. Preville was speaking at a planning meeting ahead of the final segment of the CARICOM Skilled Workers Programme (SWP), which begins 31 March in Belize.

“Sustained implementation of the CSME will depend on the availability of senior technical officers, equipped not only with the requisite knowledge of the CSME, but also an understanding of the nuanced differences in processes in Member States and the development of networks among colleagues to support the integration process.”

CARICOM border control officers from Barbados, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago are scheduled to begin a one-week attachment in Belize from 31 March – 4 April 2025.

This activity will provide opportunities to learn best-practices in the administration of the CSME regimes and develop practical skills to assist Member States in implementing the CSME and decisions of the Organs and Bodies of the Community. This activity marks the final phase of the CARICOM Skilled Workers Programme.

The programme, which is aimed at building advocates for CARICOM integration through the exposure given to the participants, is supported under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF): Strengthening Framework for CARICOM Integration and Cooperation Process (SFCICP). The programme funds three border control officers from each CARICOM Member State participating in the CSME.

While in Belize, the CARICOM border control officers will be exposed to the operations at the land border, air and seaports. They will observe passport control, customs inspection, agricultural checks and the collaboration among various agencies such as the Border Management Authority; Customs and Excise; Immigration and the Belize Agricultural Health Authority. They will also monitor cargo inspection, passenger processing, the use of technology and risk management strategies.

There are two other segments of the Border Control Officers Attachment Programme: Guyana will host participants from Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines from 7 to 11 April 2025. Participants from Belize, Dominica, Haiti and Jamaica will then have an opportunity to visit another CARICOM Member State.

A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products having a specific geographical origin and whose qualities and/or reputation are attributable to that origin. GIs are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts, and industrial products, and refer to place names.

The meeting was chaired by Ms. Margaret Ventura, EPA Coordinator in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Belize, the current Chair of CARIFORUM. Leading the European side was Mr. Benjamin Vallin, International Relations Officer at the Directorate General Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission.

There have been seven rounds of discussions to date based on obligations under Article 145 of the EPA. Once finalised, the Agreement will facilitate the protection of geographical indications from CARIFORUM States in EU Member States and vice versa. The CARIFORUM Directorate at the CARICOM Secretariat, tasked with coordinating the Agreement’s implementation, organised the meeting.

The CARIFORUM EU Agreement on Geographical Indications will be a treaty between CARIFORUM States and the European Union that will allow GIs from CARIFORUM States and the EU to be protected in each other’s territory.