5. Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA)

a. Description

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA

The Caribbean Free Trade Association, established by Antigua, Barbados and Guyana in January 1967, aims at a gradual reduction of customs barriers and the free interchange of labor forces within the region.

In August 1967, technical experts met in Georgetown, Guyana, to discuss the measures required to bring about regional economic integration in the Caribbean, and the governments of Antigua, Barbados and Guyana agreed to establish a Caribbean Free Trade Area. The meeting recommended that CARIFTA should form the basis of a wider free trade area and during 1968 a further eight members were admitted. It was decided that on July 1, 1968 all import duties and quantitative restrictions should be removed on all products trade among Caribbean member countries.

The Agreement signed in May 1968 aims at promoting trade expansion and diversification within the area, as well as encouraging the economic development of member countries. To achieve these goals, it provides for the immediate removal of all tariffs on trade among members, with the exception of certain manufactured goods included in a special Reserve List. The more-developed member countries, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica, will remove duties on imports from CARIFTA of these products over a five-year period. The Agreement also provides for incentives for the establishment of industry within the region and for agricultural development through protection from external competition. The Agricultural Marketing Protocol lists 21 commodities which may not be imported from sources outside. the free trade area until all internal supplies have been exhausted.

At the meeting held in May 1968 it was also decided to establish a Caribbean Development Bank (see below).

The summit conference held in Port-of-Spain in February 1969 reaffirmed the decision to site the Bank in Barbados, in spite of Jamaica's opposition to the proposal.

NOTE. Reproduced with permission of The Europa Yearbook, 1972. Vol. I. London, Europa Publications Limited, 1972.

Initial discussions on the establishment of a common external tariff also took place. Arrangements were made for the following studies to be carried out: rationalization of agriculture (CARIFTA Secretariat); establishment of industries on the smaller islands and regional policy of incentives (ECLA); foreign investment (University of the West Indies, Jamaica).

Belize, formerly British Honduras, was accepted for membership in June 1970. The Ministers of Education and representatives of the Universities decided on the establishment of an Examinations Council (see below) in June 1970. Also in June 1970 the Inaugural Meeting of the Statistical Co-ordinating and Advisory Committee (see below) was held. It has been decided that members will introduce the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature throughout the area with effect from January 1, 1971.

In June 1971 Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Christopher-NevisAnguilla, St. Lucia and St. Vincent signed the Grenada Declaration with the aim of forming their territories into a new state by 1973.

CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

The Bank, inaugurated in January 1970 in Nassau, began operations early in 1970 with an equity capital of $50 million. Regional governments are to hold 60 per cent of the Bank's capital, and the remaining 40 per cent is to be provided by non-regional governments-Canada, and the United Kingdom. The regional members of the Bank include all CARIFTA member countries plus the Bahamas, British Honduras, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Colombia applied to join the Bank in July 1970.

The aims of the Bank are to stimulate economic growth and development of the Caribbean region by assisting regional members in the co-ordination of their development programs, mobilizing additional financial resources from within and outside the region, providing technical assistance, promoting public and private investment in development projects. A proposed $20 million soft-loan fund will provide resources for approved infrastructure projects.

STATISTICAL CO-ORDINATING AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE (SCOAC)

Committee of Commonwealth Caribbean countries established by the Sixth Conference of Heads of Government in Jamaica, April 1970. Aims to reach agreement on use by CARIFTA territories of a common classification for collecting and reporting trade statistics. The Inaugural Meeting of the Committee was held at the Caribbean Regional Secretariat in Guyana, June 1970.

CARIBBEAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL

At a meeting in Barbados in June 1970 CARIFTA Ministers of Education and representatives of the Universities in the region decided on the establishment of an Examinations Council for the setting. conduct and administration of examinations at secondary level for the Commonwealth Caribbean area.

b. Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Free Trade Association,

1968

THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE SIGNATORY TERRITORIES

Sharing a common determination to fulfil within the shortest possible time the hopes and aspirations of the peoples of the Caribbean Territories for full employment and improved living standards;

Conscious that these goals can most rapidly be attained by the optimum use of available human and other resources and by accelerated, co-ordinated and sustained economic development;

Aware that the broadening of domestic markets through the elimination of barriers to trade between the Territories is a pre-requisite to such development;

Convinced that such elimination of barriers to trade can best be achieved by the immediate establishment of a free trade area which will contribute to the ultimate creation of a viable economic community of Caribbean Territories;

Mindful of the different levels of development attained by the Territories of the Caribbean;

1. An Association to be called the Caribbean Free Trade Association (hereinafter referred to as "The Association") is hereby established.

2. The Members of the Association, hereinafter referred to as "Member Territories" shall be the Territories on behalf of the Governments of which this Agreement is ratified in accordance with Article 31 and such other Territories as participate therein by virtue of paragraph 1 of Article 32, and for the purposes hereof, "Territories" includes sovereign States internationally recognised.

3. The institutions of the Association shall be a Council and such. organs as are mentioned in paragraph 3 of Article 28.

4. The Caribbean Free Trade Association shall operate over the areas of the Member Territories collectively called the Caribbean Free Trade Area (hereinafter referred to as "The Area").

Objectives

ARTICLE 2

The objectives of the Association shall be

(a) to promote the expansion and diversification of trade in the area of the Association;

(b) to secure that trade between Member Territories takes place in conditions of fair competition;

(c) to encourage the balanced and progressive development of the economies of the Area in keeping with paragraphs 3 to 10 of the Resolution adopted at the Fourth Conference of the Heads of Government of Commonwealth Caribbean Countries and set out in Annex A;

(d) to foster the harmonious development of Caribbean trade and its liberalisation by the removal of barriers to it;

(e) to ensure that the benefits of free trade are equitably distributed among the Member Territories.

Exclusion from this Agreement

ARTICLE 3

1. The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the rights and obligations under any agreements entered into by any of the Parties to this Agreement before the effective date hereof and notified to the Council:

Provided, however, that each Party shall take any steps at its disposal which are necessary to reconcile the provisions of any of such agreements with the purposes of this Agreement.

Provided further that, in case of any non-observance of any provisions of this Agreement on the part of a Member Territory pursuant to its exemption in that behalf by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this Article, any other Member Territory which considers that it would enjoy any benefit under this Agreement but for such exemption may, if no satisfactory settlement is reached between the Member Territories concerned, refer the matter to the council, which may, by majority decision, authorise any Member Territory to suspend to the firstmentioned Member Territory the application of such obligations under this Agreement as the Council considers meet, due regard being had to the report of such committee (if any) as may have been constituted in accordance with Article 27 to examine the matter, and paragraphs 2 and 5 of Article 26 shall apply mutatis mutandis in the case of any reference under this proviso as they apply in the case of a reference under paragraph 1 of Article 26.

2. All such agreements shall be registered in such form as the Council shall decide and by way of such service in that behalf as shall be arranged pursuant to sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 1 of Article 29.

3. The Council shall annually review the observance by Parties to this Agreement of the first proviso to paragraph 1 of this Article and may from time to time, by majority vote, recommend to any of them the taking of any steps for the purposes of that proviso.

4. For the purposes of this Article, "agreements" means any agreements concluded by instruments, or any arrangements made in writing which the Council decides, by majority vote, constitute agreements for those purposes, but does not include any agreement or arrangements entered into by a Party hereto, not being the Government of Grenada, in respect of which negotiations commenced after the 22nd February,

1968.

Import Duties

ARTICLE 4

1. Subject to the provisions of Annex B, Member Territories shall not apply any import duties on goods which are eligible for Area Tariff Treatment in accordance with Article 5.

2. For the purposes of this Article and Annex B, the term "import duties" means any tax or surtax of customs and any other charges of equivalent effect-whether fiscal, monetary or exchange-which are levied on imports, except duties notified under Article 7 and other charges which fall within that Article.

3. The provisions of this Article do not apply to fees and similar charges in respect of services rendered and nothing in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be construed to exclude from the application of paragraph 1 of this Article tax or surtax of customs on any product neither the like of which, nor a competitive substitute for which, is produced in the importing Member Territory, or to extend such application to non-discriminatory internal charges on any such product. 4. For the purposes of paragraph 3 of this Article

(a) "non-discriminatory' means non-discriminatory as between goods eligible for Årea tariff treatment as aforesaid and goods not so eligible;

(b) a charge shall not be deemed other than internal by reason only that it is collected at the time and place of importation.

ARTICLE 5

Area Origin for Tariff Purposes

1. For the purposes of Articles 4 to 8, goods shall, subject to Annex C, be accepted as eligible for Area tariff treatment if they are consigned from a Member Territory to a consignee in the importing Member Territory and if they are of Area origin under any one of the following conditions

(a) that they have been wholly produced within the Area;

(b) that they fall within a description of goods listed in a Process List to be established by decision of the Council and have been produced within the Area by the appropriate qualifying process described in that List;

(c) that they have been produced within the Area and that the value of any materials imported from outside the Area or of undetermined origin which have been used at any stage of the production of the goods does not exceed 50 per cent of the export price of the goods.

2. For the purposes of sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article, materials listed in the Basic Materials List which forms the Schedule to Annex C, which have been used in the state described in that List in a process of production within the Area, shall be deemed to contain no element imported from outside the Area. 3. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent a Member Territory from accepting as eligible for Area tariff treatment any imports consigned from another Member Territory, provided that the like imports consigned from any Member Territory are accorded the same treatment.

4. Provisions necessary for the administration and effective application of this Article are contained in Annex C.

5. The Council may decide to amend the provisions of this Article, Annex C and the Process List established under sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article.