Dominica Among Nine Countries To Sign Agreement for Preservation of Trade

Dominica is among nine Caribbean countries which signed an agreement to preserve existing preferential trade terms with the United Kingdom in a post-Brexit area.

Given that Dominica has a historical trading relation with the United Kingdom, it has been important for the Government of Dominica, since the Brexit referendum in 2016, to work within CARIFORUM to preserve our existing preferential trade terms notwithstanding uncertainties regarding the Brexit process.

The signature of the agreement safeguard the uninterrupted continuation of trade between our region and the UK and is consistent with the Government’s vision that trade should be one of the engine of growth.

The CARIFORUM/UK Economic Partnership Agreement would roll-over the terms of the CARIFORUM/ EU Economic Partnership Agreement and would therefore cover trade in goods, services and trade-related issues such as Intellectual Property Rights.

The signing took place during the Twenty Fifth Meeting of the CARIFORUM Council of Minister in Castries, Saint Lucia, from March 21-22, 2019. The Ministers also engaged in trade discussions as well as preparations for the next phase of ACP/EU Post-Cotonou arrangements.

The counties who signed were Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts- Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.  Singing on behalf of the UK was Minister of State for Trade Policy in the Department of International Trade, Hon. George Hollingberry.

The remaining six (6) CARIFORUM Member States committed to completing their domestic procedure in short order.