Guyana finally signs EPA with EU

By Stanford Conway
Editor-in-Chief-SKNVibes.com

Dr. Patrick Gomes

According to the Stabroek News, a statement said the EU Trade Commission welcomed the decision and it would allow the signatories to begin implementing the EPA by the end of this month.

Guyana agreed to sign the EPA after the other Cariforum member states (CARICOM and the Dominican Republic) and the EU accepted a declaration by President Bharrat Jagdeo as a pre-condition to signing.

Jagdeo had requested that the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas takes precedence over the EPA in any matters of conflict in implementation and in matters of regional integration. He also sought for the EPA to be reviewed every five years.

The 13 other countries agreed to a mandatory periodic review of the EPA to assess its socio-economic impact on Cariforum states, but Jagdeo said they had “watered down” the first pre-condition “to say that in the implementation of the agreement, they will take account of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas”.   ~~Adz:Right~~
 
This, Stabroek News noted Jagdeo said, was slightly different from a commitment to the supremacy of the treaty. Nevertheless, it added, Guyana’s President was satisfied with the mandatory review, but enforced threats to the country’s exports caused Guyana to sign the agreement.

In the recent past, Jagdeo was the only Head of State in the region to object to the signing of the trade agreement before acceptance of the declaration. He is on record saying that the EPA would hinder the region’s economic development rather than assist in its integration into the world economy.