Note: Advance written questions by WTO Member s and the replies provided by the OECS-WTO 
Members are reproduced in document WT/TPR/M/1 90/Add.1 and will be available online at:  
http://www.wto.org/english/tr atop_e/tpr_e/tp_rep_e.htm.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/TPR/M/190 
14 December 2007 
 (07-5592) 
Trade Policy Review Body 
5 and 7 November 2007  
 
  
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
 
OECS-WTO MEMBERS 
 
Minutes of Meeting  
 
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Vesa Himanen (Finland) 
 
    Page 
 
I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 3 
 
II. OPENING STATEMENTS BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE OECS-WTO  MEMBERS STATES 4 
 
III. STATEMENT BY THE DISCUSSANT 15  
IV. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 18 
 V. REPLIES BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF ST. LUCIA ON BEHALF OF THE 
 OECS-WTO MEMBER STATES AND ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 28 
 VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 35 
 
 WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 3 
 
 
 I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 
1. The second joint Trade Policy Review of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States 
(OECS) was held on 5 and 7 November 2007.  Th e Chairperson H.E. Mr. Vesa Himanen (Finland) 
welcomed the delegations of Antigua and Barbuda, h eaded by Minister L. Errol Cort;  of Dominica, 
headed by Mr. Ricardo James;  of Grenada, headed  by Ambassador Patrick Antoine;  of St. Lucia, 
headed by Minister Guy Mayers;  of St. Kitts a nd Nevis, headed by Mr. Samuel Berridge;  and of 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, h eaded by Minister Louis Straker.  Mr. Guillaume Cliche (Canada) 
had kindly agreed to act as the discussant for this Re view.  As usual, the discussant would speak in his 
personal capacity and not as a representative of his Government. 
2. The Chairman recalled that, according to Anne x 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement, the purpose 
of the TPRM was to achieve greater transparency  in, and understanding of, Members' trade and 
related policies.  It was not intended to serve as a basis for the enforcement of obligations under WTO 
Agreements, or for dispute-settlement purposes, nor  to impose new policy commitments on Members.  
The Chairperson recalled the purpose of the Trade Policy Reviews and the main elements of the 
procedures of the meeting.  The basic documenta tion for this Review had been circulated:  it 
comprised fourteen documents, including six Secretariat national reports, six reports by the OECS-WTO Members, an Overview report by the WTO Secr etariat, and an Overview Report prepared by 
the OECS Secretariat with the approval of OECS-WTO Members.  The reports by each of the Members under review as well as the Overview Report by OECS-WTO Members were contained in 
the series WT/TPR/G/190.  The reports by the WTO Secretariat were contained in the series 
WT/TPR/S/190.  The discussant had made available,  in document WT/TPR/D/165, the main issues he 
intended to raise. 
3. As indicated in document WT/TPR/6/Rev.1, th e Member under review should provide written 
answers by the beginning of the review meeting to  questions submitted at least two weeks before the 
meeting.  Questions posed subsequently should be answ ered, to the extent possible, before the start of 
the second session of the meeting.  Questions left  unanswered at the end of the second session should 
be answered in writing no later than one month after the meeting. 
4. Three delegations had submitted written questi ons at least two weeks in advance of the 
meeting:  United States;  Japan;  and Canada.  The following delegations had submitted written 
questions after the two-week deadline:  Colombia;  the European Communities;  Hong Kong, China;  
and Brazil.  All of the questions had be en transmitted to the OECS delegations. 
5. The Chairman noted that the substantial doc umentation prepared for the review was in 
concordance with the paramount importance that  international trade had for the Members under 
review.  The documentation highlighted the efforts that OECS-WTO Members had made to pool their 
resources in order to participate actively in multilate ral, regional, and bilate ral trade agreements, and 
to help overcome domestic resource constraints.  He stated that these efforts were vital, and that he 
would be interested in hearing the views of th e delegations on plans to expand the pooling of 
resources and to pursue common approaches to trade issues.  The report by the OECS-WTO Members 
noted that they remained committed to the process of trade liberalization as a development tool but 
that they faced the challenge of inserting themselves into the global trading system in a way that took 
into account their smallness and vulnerability. WT/TPR/M/190 
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 II. OPENING STATEMENTS BY THE REPR ESENTATIVES OF THE OECS-WTO 
 MEMBER STATES 
6. The representative of St. Lucia, on behalf of the OECS-WTO Members , took note that the 
six years since the first Review of the OECS-W TO Members coincided with the period of the 
Doha Round, and could therefore capture the progr ess of the round from the perspective of small, 
vulnerable economies.  The OECS-WTO Members were among the smallest and most vulnerable 
economies in the world.  The representative stressed  that these countries’ smallness could be easily 
assessed by their share of world trade (less than one-hundredth of one percent), population (550,000), 
and GDP (US$3.8 billion in 2006). 
7. The modest growth in 2001-05 (averaging 2.5%),  followed in 2006 by a higher rate that was 
stimulated by post-hurricane reconstruction and th e hosting of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007, 
belied the high rates of unemployment and poverty in  the region.  Poverty tended to be concentrated 
in rural areas where agriculture had traditionall y been the main income -generating activity. 
8. The OECS states, largely because of their size, were ranked by UNCTAD as perpetual single 
commodity exporters.  They also showed a high leve l of vulnerability to exogenous factors including 
natural and man-made disasters and economic shoc ks, and were ranked by the IMF among the ten 
most vulnerable economies in the world.  In this  respect, after 11 September 2001, GDP had remained 
flat or had contracted due to the negative impact on the travel and tourism industry.  Hurricane Ivan 
had caused 200% GDP damage in Grenada in 2004 and this had been followed by significant damage 
from Hurricane Emily the following year.  In 2007, Hurricane Dean had almost totally destroyed the 
banana crop in Dominica;  the same hurricane had da maged 70% of the crop in St. Lucia.  It would 
take at least a year for the industry to recover fully. 
9. In November 2001, the WTO Members of the OECS had welcomed the launch of the 
Doha Round of negotiations.  The WTO had agreed to deliver improved modalities for trade 
liberalization integral to the development dimension that would also address the peculiarities of small 
economies.  The OECS-WTO Members had seen th e establishment of a work programme on small 
economies to facilitate their “fuller in tegration” into the multilateral trading system as a step forward.  
However, the “development dimension” and part icularly the development concerns of small 
economies appeared to have been lost amid the focu s on market access issues.  The lessons learnt in 
the aftermath of the failed Cancun Mi nisterial seemed to have been fo rgotten, and the warnings issued 
by delegations in 2001, that any institution that rep eatedly failed to deal with the pressing concerns of 
such a large part of its membership would have difficulty progressing, had become a distant memory. 
10. The OECS-WTO Members saw trade as a vehicle for achieving its development objectives.  
An approach to the negotiations that ensured th at the development dimension was frontloaded in 
emerging modalities was necessary if small developi ng economies were to derive any benefits from 
the Doha Round.  Thus far, the DDA seemed to be focused on seeking to extract commitments on 
market opening for products of interest to develope d or some developing countries with little trade 
benefit either in goods or services, as yet, fo r the smaller more vulnerable economies.  The DDA 
should address the cost of adjustment to the effects of trade liberalization, notably as a result of the 
losses incurred by the banana and sugar industri es.  Small vulnerable economies such as the six 
OECS-WTO Members wished to ensure that de velopment underlay positions in the WTO.  Any 
review of the progress of the negotiations to date  should be informed by this understanding of 
development. 
11. The economies of the OECS-WTO Members and particularly their agricultural sectors had 
paid a high price in the process of multilateral trad e liberalization.  The banana industry in the 
Windward Islands had been decima ted, and banana production had fa llen by about two thirds across 
the islands.  This was a consequence of the actions of other Members:  as it pursued the interests of its WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 5 
 
 
 multinationals in an ongoing matter, the United Stat es a non-banana producing country, was oblivious 
to the collateral damage that could be wrought on th eir countries by actions that would destroy what 
little share the OECS-WTO Members had left of the EC market.  He asked why such penalties should 
be inflicted on poor sovereign democracies like St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and 
St. Lucia. 
12. In the period under review banana production had d eclined by 71.6 % in St. Vincent.  Around  
70% of banana farmers had left the industry in Domi nica, and 80% in St. Lucia.  Attempts to revive 
the industry through non-traditional marketing chan nels had brought some level of success.  While 
banana production had seen a slight upturn, the ne w markets would not, in the short or long term, 
duplicate or replace the income generated under previ ous marketing arrangements.  Considering that 
the OECS-WTO Members' total contribution to wo rld trade was insignificant, he questioned the 
damage they could do to the market. 
13. OECS governments had registered their conti nued concern over pressure to undertake rapid 
liberalization, which in their view was unsustain able.  Small vulnerable economies like the Member 
States of the OECS should not be required to liberalize their economies at a pace that was not 
commensurate with their level of development. 
14. Given the OECS-WTO Members heavy reliance on  trade taxes for government revenue, the 
consequences of a rapid reduction in tariffs would affect education, health care, and other critical 
social programmes.  In an attempt to mitigate the deleterious effects of tariff reduction on fiscal 
revenue, OECS Members were undert aking a programme of reforms aimed at repositioning their tax 
regimes and reducing their depende nce on border taxes.  This process had benefited from technical 
assistance from partners but would take time.  The OECS economies were amongst the most open in the WTO.  The OECS-WTO Members imported nearly 90% of their consumption, which necessitated a high dependence on border taxes to enable them to provide basic public ser vices.  Despite that, the 
OECS-WTO Members were undertak ing the necessary adjustments. 
15. The agriculture sector remained vitally im portant to the economies of the OECS-WTO 
Members not only for its contribution to GDP but al so for its contribution to rural employment and 
social stability.  Efforts were being made to divers ify within agriculture.  In this regard the policy 
space provided by provisions for flexibilities such as special products and the special safeguard 
mechanism were important policy instruments. 
16. With the decline of agriculture , the services sector had become the leading contributor to 
GDP.  Tourism and construction had become the main drivers of OECS economies. Initiatives in 
other sectors had met with measured success.  It had been the OECS-WTO Members' experience that even their best efforts to diversify could be easily  thwarted.  Notable examples were the blacklisting 
of OECS jurisdictions by the OECD Financial Acti on Task Force, which had affected the financial 
services sector, and the effect of the amendment of  U.S. legislation to prohibit the provision of 
internet gaming services on the industry in Antigua and Barbuda. 
17. The small service suppliers of the OECS sought market access commitments in services that 
created real opportunities for them to trade with more advanced economies.  Exports of services, 
especially, through Mode 4, were of critical importan ce to this end.  Domes tic regulation was another 
critical area as the OECS-WTO Members recognized  the importance of establishing the requisite 
regulatory framework for the development of the services sector.  The cost of establishment and 
maintenance of these frameworks could be prohibitiv e and a disincentive to expansion of the sector. 
18. While the WTO Members of the OECS remain ed resolute in their commitment to the 
multilateral trading system, they faced obvious co nstraints to their full engagement in the DDA 
negotiations.  There were serious fi nancial and human resource limitati ons both in terms of skills and WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 6 
 
 
 numbers.  In most OECS Member states, two or th ree persons were responsible for all trade policy 
matters.  Attempts had been made to pool of resources:  the establishment of a joint Technical Mission in Geneva had been a significant achieve ment.  Since their last Review, the OECS-WTO 
Members had worked hard to improve trade po licy coordination and func tional cooperation in a 
number of trade-related areas.  As part of CARICOM, the OECS-WTO Members had also worked to 
establish a number of regional trade-related institutio ns, such as a standards body and a regional trade 
court and competition commission. 
19. As part of the ongoing effort to pool their res ources, the OECS was al so working towards an 
economic union:  at a recent retreat, Heads of Government had reiterated their commitment to its establishment by 2009.  The economic union would create a single financial and economic space 
where people, goods, and services would move freely,  rights of establishment would be guaranteed 
and economic policies harmonized;  the OECS-WTO Members hoped this would increase their competitiveness. 
20. The OECS countries supported the work being undertaken on aid for trade but did not 
perceive it as compensation for the loss of pr eferences nor as a trade-off for commitments on 
liberalization.  They perceived aid for trade as a mechanism to help them take advantage of the 
opportunities created by the multilateral trading system. 
21. Notwithstanding their varying le vels of development, this second Trade Policy review had 
indicated the strides the OECS-WTO Members had made towards meeting their WTO obligations.  
They thanked the WTO Secretariat for producing a balanced report. 
22. The OECS-WTO Members had improved coordinati on of trade policy over the review period.  
They had created new trade supporting institutions, im proved the level of notifications, and increased 
the level of WTO implementation, particularly in the area of TRIPS.  The OECS-WTO Members were in the process of undertaking significant ta x reforms, they had autonomously liberalized 
telecommunications, vigorously pursued economic dive rsification, and had improved their levels of 
engagement and visibility in the WTO negotiatio ns.  There were some weaknesses, but Members 
should recognize that these achie vements had been made against the backdrop of severe human 
resource constraints and significant vulnerabilities.  These constraints were made more acute by the 
stretching of human resources across several nego tiating theatres.  The OECS-WTO Members looked 
forward to improving their levels of compliance and pursuing even further reforms but stressed the importance of being granted the time flexibility and assistance necessary to achieve these ends. 
23. The representative of Antigua and Barbuda
 stated that during the period under review, 
Antigua and Barbuda had increased its involvement  in the WTO, seeking to meet often onerous 
commitments, despite limited financial, human, tec hnical, and other resources.  It was of the opinion 
that the multilateral trading system would functi on effectively only when all Members honoured their 
obligations.  At the same time, Members should r ecognize that, as stated in  the preamble to the 
Marrakesh Agreement, there was need for positive effo rts to ensure that developing countries secured 
a share in the growth in international trade. 
24. Antigua and Barbuda’s economy had a high rati ng according to accepted standards:  annual 
per capita GDP was approximately US$10,000 and it s Human Development Index ranking was 59 in 
2006.  However, as a small, ope n, developing state Antigua and Barbuda struggled with fiscal 
imbalances, high debt, and vulnerabilitie s resulting from a narrow production base. 
25. Between 1998 and 2003, the Government’s fiscal operations had recorded high and sustained 
current account and overall deficits averaging about 6% and 7% of GDP respectively.  There had also 
been a significant increase in debt, resulting in a debt to GDP ratio of over 130% by the end of 2003. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 7 
 
 
 26. In 2004, therefore, the Government had emba rked on a comprehensive reform programme.  
Through a fiscal reform initiative focusing both on revenue and expenditure, the Government had 
managed to improve tax administra tion and revenue collection.  This  had been facilitated by new tax 
measures, consolidation of existing tax measures, removal of certain i ndirect taxes, and rationalization 
of tax collection agencies.  The personal income tax had been reintroduced in April 2005, the sales tax 
on goods and services had been implemented early in  January 2007, and a modernized property tax 
system had been established in the same month.  Further, the Government had sought to curtail 
discretionary tax concessions by establishing limits on the level of concessions granted and revamping 
the application process.  The Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority, established in May 2007, 
was responsible for granting incentives to domestic and foreign business enterprises in a transparent 
and non-discriminatory manner.  The Governme nt had also embarked on a customs renewal 
programme, introducing computerized systems at the por ts with streamlined and faster procedures, to 
obtain greater efficiencies for Government and reduced transaction costs for the business sector. 
27. Similarly, the Government was pursuing a progr amme of economic diversification.  Tourism 
was the key revenue earning sector for Antigua and Ba rbuda and one of the most important areas for 
foreign direct investment.  Tourism accounted fo r some 28% of overall employment, 48% of export 
earnings, and 51% of total investments in Antigua  and Barbuda.  However, dependence on tourism 
made the economy particularly vulnerab le to exogenous shocks:  events such as the terrorist attacks in 
September 2001 and, more recently, changes in U. S. Government passport policies had significantly 
affected tourist arrival figures.  
28. Furthermore, according to the Centre for R esearch on Epidemiology Disasters, Antigua and 
Barbuda was among the countries most highly exposed to natural disasters:  from 1970 through 2002, it had ranked among the top four countries by land ar ea and population.  The country had suffered hits 
from several major hurricanes, causing extensive dama ge to infrastructure and property including the 
tourism plant. 
29. The Government had identified a dditional service sectors for expa nsion, in par ticular business 
and professional services and international financial ser vices in the areas of banking, trust, insurance, 
Internet gaming, international business corporations , foundations, and limited liability corporations.  
However, service providers in these areas faced substantial barriers to trade. 
30. In the area of business and professional services, access to markets in developed countries had 
been restricted due to several factors including limited commitments in respect of modes 3 and 4, 
domestic regulations, economic needs tests, the need for mutual recognition arrangements for 
professional credentials, and measures affecting tem porary entry (such as immigration procedures).  
International financial services had grown significan tly until the 1990s.  Alth ough, in 1999, a number 
of OECD countries had issued advisories against th e jurisdiction, since 2001, evaluations by the 
FATF, IMF, and CFATF had indicated the significant improvements made by Antigua and Barbuda 
in regulating the financial services sector.  In an ef fort to position the country as a premier financial 
services centre, a major restructuring of the regulat ory framework had been undertaken, including the 
establishment of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) as the single regulatory and supervisory body.  The FSRC was responsible for overseeing international business corporations, and 
the Government’s intention was to make the FSRC the regulator for all financial institutions both 
domestic and international. 
31. The Directorate of Gaming, a division of the FSRC, had responsibility for oversight of all 
aspects of remote gaming, including Internet gaming companies, which were significant contributors to Antigua and Barbuda’s economy.  The Directorat e had enacted a considerable body of regulations 
representing a comprehensive approach to s upervision of the remote gaming sector. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 8 
 
 
 32. Historically, the largest market for Antigua and Barbuda's remote gaming services had been 
the United States.  However, having made comm itments under the GATS in this sector, the United 
States had imposed trade restrictions to the cross-borde r provision of this service.  As a result of U.S. 
actions to interfere, restrict, and prohibit remote wagering services – such as forcing credit card and 
online payment services to cease processing remote gaming transactions, forcing banks to cease their 
relationships with remote gaming operators, etc. – there had been a significant decrease in 
employment within this sector, from more than 3, 000 in 1999 to less than 700 in 2006, as well as a 
reversal in development of the sector – growth had declined from 200% in 2000 to -5% in 2006 – and 
a steep decline in the country’s share of world remote gaming revenues from 61% in 2000 to 7% in 
2006. 
33. In 2003, Antigua and Barbuda had initiate d proceedings at the WTO against the 
United States.  This action had proven expensive and time consuming for An tigua and Barbuda.  The 
DSB had ruled that the United States was in violati on of the GATS.  However, instead of bringing its 
measures into compliance, the United States had anno unced its intention to withdraw its commitment 
in Internet gaming.  In Antigua and Barbuda’s vi ew this undermined the credibility of the WTO and 
might seem to prove what some developing countries had feared:  that the system only worked to the 
benefit of the countries that were rich, large or powerful.  
34. Antigua and Barbuda had the right to comp ensation under Article XXI of the GATS.  
However it had always been Antigua and Barbud a’s objective to engage the United States in a 
negotiated settlement that allowed the continued provision of gaming services to consumers in the 
United States on a mutually acceptable basis, allowi ng Antigua and Barbuda to  continue to develop 
and expand this sector. 
35. The international trading system had promised the same rights and privileges to all Members, 
even small, vulnerable island economies like Anti gua and Barbuda.  Antigua  and Barbuda called on 
all WTO Members to ensure that the functioning of th e system fulfilled this promise, that the efforts 
of developing countries like Antigua and Barbuda towards sustainable development be supported in 
meaningful ways, and that all Members adhered to the rules-based system. 
36. The representative of Grenada  observed that, as one of the small island developing countries 
in the Caribbean, with a land mass of approximate ly 345 square kilometres, and a population of 
around 103,000, Grenada was constrained in its devel opment by a number of factors.  These included:  
susceptibility to natural disasters; limited diversifica tion due to a very narrow resource base and small 
domestic market; limited domestic and export production on a limited number of products;  
inadequate infrastructure;  and low levels of productivity. 
37. Grenada was recovering from one of the most di fficult periods in its economic history, the 
11 September 2001 attacks in the United States had triggered a recession in 2001-02, aggravated by 
Tropical Storm Lili in 2002.  Hurricane Ivan in  September 2004 had caused an unprecedented 200% 
of GDP damage, and Hurricane Emily, in July 2005,  had caused additional damage estimated at 12% 
of GDP.  More recently, Grenada had been affected by high world oil prices.  As a result, economic 
growth had fluctuated sharply since 2001, unempl oyment and poverty had risen, and effective policy 
implementation had been hampered. 
38. As part of its economic reform programme, the Government of Grenada had undertaken a 
comprehensive programme for 2006-08 entitled "Enhancing Growth, Poverty Alleviation and 
Macroeconomic Stability".  The main goals of this  programme were to:  promote sustained high 
economic growth by improving the climate for pr ivate investment;  restore fiscal and debt 
sustainability through fiscal consolidation and re form;  reduce vulnerabilities by safeguarding the 
soundness of the financial system;  and reduce pove rty through more effective social development 
programmes and safety nets.  Some of the measures th at would be undertaken were debt restructuring, WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 9 
 
 
 the implementation of a new Investment Code, rationalization of tax incentives/concessions, and 
implementation of a public sector modernization pr ogramme.  In order to reduce Grenada's reliance 
on international trade taxes, the Government woul d introduce a value added tax in 2008, and a new 
export strategy would be implemented. 
39. Over the last six years Grenada had been involve d in trade negotiations at various levels:  at 
the multilateral level in the WTO;  at the hemispheri c level for the creation of a Free Trade Area of 
the Americas;  and under the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreem ent for an Economic Partnership Agreement.  
There had also been CARICOM bilateral negotiati ons with Costa Rica, Cuba, and the Dominican 
Republic. 
40. Grenada was an active member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and was 
committed to the operation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.  Grenada had signed up 
the CSME in June 2006.  The Member States of th e Organization of Eastern Caribbean States were 
also presently embarking on deeper integrati on through the creation of an economic union. 
41. Grenada was a party to the Cotonou Partne rship Agreement between members of the 
European Union, and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific States signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000, a 
reciprocal free-trade agreement is being negotia ted between the EC and the CARIFORUM Region to 
replace the previous preferential trade regime.  Th is new Economic Partners hip Agreement would be 
compatible with WTO rules and should enter into effect on 1 January 2008. 
42. Grenada was committed to a rules-based multilateral trading system.  It continued to 
participate in the negotiations at the WTO in ag riculture, non-agricultural market access, trade in 
services, trade facilitation, trade and development,  and implementation issues.  Grenada strongly 
believed that the new global trade and economic arch itecture must recognize the vulnerability of small 
economies and make adequate provision to avoid th eir marginalization.  It was incumbent on WTO 
Members to ensure concrete measures were put in place to take into account the differences in size, 
vulnerability, and levels of development among countries in the current DDA negotiation. 
43. As a small vulnerable economy, Grenada was w illing to undertake liberalization in the DDA 
negotiations commensurate with its level of devel opment and capacity.  It needed policy space to 
achieve its development objectives,  and believed, in this regard, that the WTO should address the 
particular interest and needs of small vulnerabl e economies Members, and ensure that sustained 
efforts were made towards balancing the obliga tions assumed and the benefits derived from the 
system.  The Government of Grenada wished to see concrete results on special and differential 
treatment and implementation-related issues, whic h remained at the core of the development 
dimension of the Doha negotiations. 
44. Grenada welcomed the initiative announced at the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting in 
December 2005 on aid for trade.  Grenada firm ly believed that aid for trade should address:  
adjustment costs, the cost of preference erosion,  the cost of compliance with product standards, 
assistance with implementing WTO Agreements, the cost  of tariff revenue losses as a result of tariff 
reduction; supply-side capacity building; and trad e-related infrastructure (improving roads, ports, 
airports, public utilities, etc.).  Small vulnerabl e economies should be offered meaningful packages 
under the programme to develop and expand their tr ade.  Members should ensure that access to the 
assistance under the Aid for Trade initia tive was simple and transparent. 
45. Grenada's first Trade Policy Review in 2001 had not ed areas in which reforms were needed to 
comply with WTO obligations.  Grenada still faced some significant challenges in implementing its 
WTO obligations, especially related to the implem entation of legislation and the creation of new 
institutions.  Grenada had begun the process of in corporating the WTO Agreements into domestic 
law,  at present steps were been taken to implemen t TRIPS-compliant legislation;  steps were also WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 10 
 
 
 been taken to implement the WTO SPS and Cust oms Valuation Agreements, but assistance was 
needed. 
46. The representative of St. Kitts and Nevis  stated that during the Review period, St. Kitts and 
Nevis had taken the major decision to cease operati on of the state-owned sugar industry, which had 
existed for over 350 years.  This decision had been  based largely on the realities of the global trade 
agenda, and had forced the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to devise an adaptation strategy geared 
towards providing employment for the more than 1,000 workers. 
47. St. Kitts and Nevis recognized the need to restru cture its economy, and to engage in a process 
of reform that would reduce its reliance on fiscal revenues linked to imports. 
48. The agriculture sector remained important for the growth of St. Kitts and Nevis' economy.  
The closure of the sugar industry had resulted in the decline in the contribution of agriculture to GDP.  
Nevertheless, the Government had em barked on an ambitious plan to stimulate growth in agriculture 
in the post-sugar era;  special emphasis had b een placed on fruit and vegetables, root crops, and 
livestock production.  Add itionally, St. Kitts and Nevis was exploring areas of niche production in 
order to add value to its exports.  This plan w as not only designed to ensure food security at the 
national level, but also to contribute to rural de velopment, livelihood security for farmers and their 
dependents, and an increase in export of agricultural products.  
49. It would be difficult for a small economy to engage in large-scale agricultural production due 
to economies of scale constraints, and, in this respect, St. Kitts and Nevis was hopeful that the 
initiative in the DDA agriculture negotiations to desi gnate "special products" would be to its benefit 
as a small and vulnerable economy. 
50. The services sector was of great importance to the St. Kitts and Nevis economy:  it was the 
largest contributor to GDP.  Tourism, services relate d to ICT, and financial services had been targeted 
as areas for further growth.  The Government had made an initial services offer in the GATS, and was 
committed to the progressive liberalization of other sectors.  St. Kitts and Nevis was therefore willing to open additional sectors in accordance with its  ability to institute the necessary regulatory 
environment to govern the implementation of commitments made. 
51. The manufacturing sector was also of great importance to St. Kitts and Nevis. Most 
manufactured products benefited from preferential access to developed countries markets.  These schemes were, however, bound by time and were  dependent on the goodwill of WTO Members.  
St. Kitts and Nevis therefore had an interest in th e NAMA negotiations, particularly in gaining global 
market for its manufactured goods. 
52. St. Kitts and Nevis welcomed the Aid for Trad e initiative, tabled officially at the Sixth 
Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong.  It view ed this initiative as a mechanism designed, inter alia,  to 
build capacity at the national level in a systematic and sustainable manner;  it did not view it as sheer 
compensation for trade liberalization. 
53. St. Kitts and Nevis was a strong supporter of the small and vulnerable economies (SVE) 
initiative in the Doha negotiations.  As one of th e smallest and most vulnerable economies of the 
WTO, it saw this initiative as a mechanism to address some supply-side and other capacity constraints 
linked to participation in the multilateral trad ing system.  The ongoing negotiations on trade 
facilitation were also being closely followed by  the Government.  As a small open economy highly 
dependent on international trade, St. Kitts and Nevi s found it critical to put in place measures that 
facilitated trade, but it faced considerable capacity constraints.  St. Kitts and Nevis acknowledged the 
assistance provided by the WTO and Commonwealth Secret ariats in this regard;  there was need for a 
cohesive and systematic approach to building capacity in a sustainable way. WT/TPR/M/190 
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 54. The representative of St. Lucia  stated that St. Lucia’s ability to take full advantage of 
international trade agreements was limited by its  size and capacity to compete effectively in a 
liberalized trading system such as the WTO's.  St. Lucia had a small domestic market with very low 
levels of economic activity;  it faced structural disadvantages relative to larger economies, as it was 
unable to benefit from economies of scale, whic h were essential in achieving regional and 
international competitiveness in the production of goods and services. 
55. The absence of natural resources compounded eco nomic difficulties as efforts at economic 
diversification were slow, and St. Lucia was forced  to continue to rely on a few economic sectors.  
The labour force was constrained by the population numb ers.  Inadequate levels of labour contributed 
to the relatively undiversified structure of the ec onomy;  the varying levels of education and the 
paucity of opportunities at tertiary level and be yond compounded this problem.  Overseas training was 
expensive and the brain drain from the country wa s among the factors contributing to development 
problems. 
56. St. Lucia was a member of the CARlCOM Comm unity where it was afforded (along with 
other OECS member states) less developed country (L DC) status.  As an LDC St. Lucia did not have 
to reciprocate in any of the negotiated preferen tial market access under bilateral agreements signed 
between CARICOM and its Latin American and CA RIFORUM neighbours, thus allowing for some 
trading flexibility within the sub-region. 
57. Despite the difficulties experienced in a liberaliz ed trading environment, St. Lucia continued 
to promote trade in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.  With dwindling fortunes in agriculture 
because of a combination of the withdrawal of pr eferences in Europe and adverse decisions from the 
WTO Dispute Settlement Body, St. Lucia had found it necessary to diversify into trade in services, 
with tourism becoming one of the leading subsectors. 
58. In its drive towards poverty alleviation, the Government of St. Lucia in its 2007/2008 Budget 
had identified five geographic regions to bridge  the divide and stimulate country-wide economic 
activity.  Activities in these regions would be desi gned around tourism products;  the ICT sector, to 
capitalize on the skills base of their younger populace;  and innovations in agriculture coupled with 
new supporting facilities to promote aquaculture, hydroponics, and tissue culture propagation. 
59. St. Lucia took its obligations in the OECS and CARICOM very seriously and tried, within its 
limited resources, to be WTO-compatible.  The eco nomy was small in terms of both population and 
land mass.  This meant that the island was disadvant aged in market size and vulnerable to both natural 
disasters and external economic shocks.  St. Lucia also fully supported the CARICOM CSME which, 
it believed would lead to greater transpar ency and competition within the community. 
60. The establishment of the OECS Technical Mission and its permanent presence in Geneva had 
enabled St. Lucia and the other OECS Member Stat es to have greater and more visible representation 
at WTO meetings.  A significant improvement in th e dissemination of information had been observed, 
and networking between capitals a nd Geneva had been enhanced, en abling OECS Members to better 
table their positions on important matters and to engage in the negotiations process along with other 
alliance groupings on multilateral issues.  Alt hough the ultimate goal was full representation in 
Geneva, despite limited resources, St. Lucia was satisfied to date with the assistance and advice provided by the OECS Technical Mission.  St. Luci a was grateful for the assistance provided by the 
EC, which had helped to keep the OECS mission in Geneva open. 
61. St. Lucia had no specific Uruguay Round legislation, but many of the WTO Agreements had 
been incorporated into domestic law in a number of  acts of Parliament and various regulations.  Since 
2001, its trade policy had undergone substantial chang es, in response to regional and international 
developments, and as a result had become mo re open and transparent and WTO compliant. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 12 
 
 
 62. St. Lucia had been active in the WTO in the c ontext of the Doha Development Round.  In the 
negotiations, St. Lucia had strongly advanced the ar gument that special and differential treatment was 
integral to the negotiating process.  It had also joined other CARICOM members in advocating less 
than full reciprocity in NAMA and flexibilities for small and vulnerable economies in the negotiation 
process.  St. Lucia had also highlighted the n eed for the negotiations to take account of the 
consequences of preference erosion for developing  and particularly small vulnerable economies.  
St. Lucia had supported a request by a number of developing members of the WTO for an extension 
of time for providing export subsidies until 2018.  St. Lucia regarded these subsidies as important to 
help it integrate more fully into the multilate ral system, given what it viewed as weaknesses 
associated with its status as a "small and vulnerable economy."  St. Lucia had also attempted to 
advance the DDA generally, in the context of its UN membership. 
63. St. Lucia considered structured technical assistance to be a critical element in the 
development of the capacity needed to participat e in the increasingly burdensome demands of the 
multilateral trading system.  The main areas of focus included:  enhancement of the domestic (human and institutional) resource capacity and capability to be responsive to an accelerating negotiating 
process, improvement in technological infrastructure, diversification of export portfolios, technical 
assistance in the area of drafting legislation for SPS systems, strengthening of the SPS surveillance systems as well as risk analysis to conform to inte rnational regulations, institutional building for the 
implementation of safeguard mechanisms, trade regu latory capacity building, and trade development 
measures. 
64. Despite its limited resources, St. Lucia had slow ly built its trading platforms in agriculture, 
manufacturing, and tourism.  However, since 2001 it had encountered immense difficulties, 
particularly in agriculture, resulting in a marked d ecline in the contribution of that sector to GDP.  
Consequently, St. Lucia was of the view that the nomenclature "Aid for Trad e" should be changed to 
"Aid to Trade", since Aid to Trade implied that ai d would assist in rebuilding those trading platforms 
that had been eroded because of loss of mark ets, particularly through competition from more 
formidable competitors.  Aid to Trade should be ge ared towards a technical and financial assistance to 
address trade facilitation needs as well as the im plementation of existing national development 
models, including the National Export Developm ent Strategy, the Industrial Policy, and the 
Agricultural Development Plan for St. Lucia. 
65. Any initiative towards the development of Aid to Trade within the context of multilateral 
negotiations, had to help build supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastructure needed by small 
vulnerable economies like St. Lucia to expand its trade portfolio and to benefit in any meaningful way 
from the WTO Agreements.  Assistance under any Aid for Trade initiative should not be deducted 
from existing lines of credit or from any previous ai d or soft loan assistance programme currently in 
place or negotiated.  There should be a new progra mme, geared specifically at trade, trade-related 
necessities in the recipient countries, with fixed,  pre-arranged conditions and accountability at all 
levels.  A strict monitoring system should be put  in place, with tangible results being the incentives 
for future aid. 
66. Retaining any gains achieved by subscribi ng to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy 
had been an uphill task for St. Lucia and the ot her OECS member states.  Soon after signing the 
Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, St. Lucia as part of CARICOM, had entered into trade negotiations 
with more developed third countries.  With great  difficulty, St. Lucia and other OECS-WTO Members 
had made their case to preserve their CARICOM LDC privileges, but this appeared to have been 
ignored. 
67. Since becoming a member of the WTO, St. Lucia had seen a gradual erosion of the 
preferences that had once allowed it to compete inte rnationally.  This had had a debilitating effect on 
its social infrastructure and the economy.  St. Lu cia requested that its peculiar circumstances as a WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 13 
 
 
 Small Island Developing State be recognized and th e appropriate action be taken to reinforce its 
trading platforms, which had collapsed as a direct result of the forces of globalization. 
68. St. Lucia needed Aid to Trade; meaningful subs idies that would assist it in underpinning the 
shortfall in economic returns brought on by the ch anges in market conditions as it adjusted to the 
unfamiliar.  The weaker and more vulnerable WTO Members should not be made to feel 
disenfranchised by the more devel oped and affluent Members.  This  would only lead to fragmentation 
and chaos.  St. Lucia remained committed to the liberalization of international trade despite its 
shortcomings and its obvious disappointment as it wa tched its contribution to world trade dwindle to 
miniscule, unprocurable digits.  St. Lucia considered that this liberalization had to be done fairly, 
without hidden technical barriers or creative trade defence measures;  the developed countries should 
not thwart the goodwill of the rules-based organization. 
69. St. Lucia would continue to strive to be fully compliant, within the limits of its physical and 
financial resources, and in the fa ce of tremendous challenges.  St. Lucia was beset by negative 
implications for growth and development, and faced  higher levels of volatilit y than many small land-
locked economies in the pursuit of its economic goals.  Critical challenges included scarce resources, 
and manpower, inability to benefit from economies of  scale in almost every field of economic 
endeavour, and limited avenues for diversification and achieving sustainable economic development. 
70. WTO Members needed to consider what could reasonably be demanded from a small 
sovereign democracy like St. Lucia without increasi ng the poverty level among the less fortunate.  St. 
Lucia's vulnerability to natural disasters was a con cern and the adverse rulings by the DSB from time 
to time on bananas had not helped its situation.   St. Lucia could only hope that the WTO would 
demand no more from it than it was able to give. 
71. The representative of St. Vi ncent and the Grenadines  stated that since its first Review it had 
undertaken significant regulatory and other reforms in  keeping with the requirements of the TPR.  
These reforms had complemented the Govern ment’s philosophy on good governance and 
transparency and had aided its continued quest to build a modern, competitive, post-colonial 
economy, at the national and regional level. 
72. Economic reforms had led to the acceptance of tr ade liberalization principles, which had been 
implemented vigorously by the Government and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  These measures demonstrated the country's commitment to  the enhancement of sustainable development, 
growth, and poverty reduction. 
73. However, there was evidence, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the rest of the region, of 
weak capacities and lack of appropriate support to engage constructively in trade policy design and 
implementation on a regular and continuous basis.   St. Vincent and the Grenadines, like other 
small island states (SIDs) in the Caribbean, was f aced with tremendous challenges that included but 
were not limited to:  rising oil prices;  the accelerating prices of international transport;  the expiry of 
the WTO waiver for the Cotonou trade regime on 31 December 2007, which would mark the end of preferential market access in the European market, particularly for its bananas;  its vulnerability to 
severe natural disasters and the increasing effects of global warming;  the increased financial burden in combating international terrorism;  a declining U. S. dollar, to which the East Caribbean dollar was 
pegged;  and an increasing balance-of-trade defic it as a result of declining competitiveness.  All of 
these exogenous factors impacted heavily and ne gatively on St. Vincent and the Grenadines' 
development, and reduced its capacity to meet the Millennium Development Goals. 
74. There should be a clarion call for systems and assi stance to enable weak nations to transit the 
rough waters of the international marketplace:  aid for trade was one such vehicle for driving capacity 
development in line with the national priorities ou tlined in St. Vincent and the Grenadines' National WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 14 
 
 
 Export and Development Strategy.  The linkages be tween trade, growth, and poverty reduction should 
be manifested in coherent policy decisions and th e benefits shared by all stakeholders.  Special 
emphasis should be placed on rural development, gender issues, and education, enabling human 
capital to translate into wealth creati on for the most vulnerable in society. 
75. The WTO provided an important opportunity to  redress the imbalances against developing 
countries and their development prospects, which ha d been marginalized in the DDA negotiations.  St. 
Vincent and the Grenadines was hope ful that the negotiations would allow sufficient flexibilities to 
small developing countries like St. Vincent and th e Grenadines and the other OECS-WTO Members. 
76. The Preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement rec ognized the need for effo rts to ensure that 
developing countries, and in particular the least de veloped among them, secured a share in the growth 
in international trade commensurate with the needs of their economic de velopment.  In this regard, St. 
Vincent and the Grenadines urged the developed WT O Members to reconsider the contents of the 
Doha Round of negotiations that had so far been  proposed, in order to incorporate the principles 
enumerated in the Preamble of the Marrakesh Agre ement in advancing the development needs of the 
small island states including St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 
77. St. Vincent and the Grenadines considered ai d for trade a tool for promoting growth, 
development, and equitable poverty reduction.  Th is could be through financ ial and technical support 
to build supply-side capacity, incl uding technical assistance for infrastructure that would promote 
trade.  However, it did not see aid for trade solely as budgetary support, but also in areas such as:  the 
costs of compliance with technical standards, sin ce often many small suppliers could not meet these 
non-tariff barriers to trade, and simply could not trade, leading to reduced growth and increased 
unemployment;  the costs of implementing the WT O agreements, which for smaller economies was 
higher than for larger economies;  tariff revenue lo sses from tariff reductions;  the costs of small firms 
and businesses due to foreign competition and unemployment, at least in the short term, after trade liberalization;  and the high cost of transport for goods and passengers th rough the region, which 
inhibited regional trade in goods and services. 
78. The representative of St. Vincent and the Grenadines recalled the importance of the 
production and export of critical commodities like banana and sugar to the economic and social 
wellbeing and to the economies and peoples of the OECS .  There was an urgent need for development 
assistance recognizing the special vulnerabilities of the banana producers in Dominica, Grenada, 
St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines in order to facilitate the continued adjustment and 
transformation of the banana and sugar industries.   St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the OECS 
would continue to strive to be WTO-compliant within the confines of their limited resources. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 15 
 
 
 III. STATEMENT BY THE DISCUSSANT 
(i) The economic environment and policy 
79. The discussant observed that in  the six years since their first review, OECS-WTO Members 
had shown clear commitment to improving their economic  and trade policies, as well as to making the 
multilateral trading system more adapted to their own realities.  Through common action, either as 
OECS-WTO Members or as members of broader co alitions, they had made their presence gradually 
more effective in the WTO. 
80. The previous discussant had noted the gaps between the WTO obligations of the OECS-WTO 
Members and their trade policies in some areas and had asked whether Members should make 
promises they could not live up to.  The significan t progress made in the last six years responded in a 
practical manner to this question. 
81. The most pressing challenge faced by the OECS-WTO Members was that of size.  According 
to the WTO Secretariat, their co mbined GDP was about US$3.8 billion.  This was roughly equivalent 
to one-sixth of the economy of the smallest U.S. st ate (Vermont), and about equal to the GDP of the 
smallest Canadian province (Prince-Edward Isla nd).  Their combined population of 550,000 was also 
limited and spread over a relatively large expan se of water, which complicated transport and 
communications.  These simple facts underlined the institutiona l constraints under which these 
countries operated. 
82. Despite these challenges, OECS-WTO Member s had had a reasonable average level of 
growth since 2001 (3.4%), but this figure masked significant variations from year to year and country 
to country.  Their economies had continued to turn  towards the services sectors, and particularly the 
tourism industry.  Meanwhile, the economic import ance of agriculture had continued to decline, 
which had triggered important social issues.  Both  in agriculture and in services, the question of 
economic diversification arose;  he asked for the views of the OECS delegations on this topic. 
83. There was no obvious cure for small size other than regional integration.  Therefore, the 
OECS-WTO Members' objective to progress towa rds an economic union should be particularly 
highlighted.  An update on current plans in this re gard would be welcome.  The OECS already had a 
track record of successes in regional integration;   one example was the creation of the Eastern 
Caribbean Central Bank.  The ECCB had maintained a prudent and stable monetary policy, with the 
deliberate objective of controlling inflation.  EC CB policies contributed to economic stability, 
although lending rates remained relatively high. 
84. The picture with respect to fiscal policy was more nuanced.  Governments had been running 
significant deficits in recent years;  this added to  the heavy burden of external public debt, which was 
more than 100% of GDP, despite recent substantial write-offs. 
85. He raised two issues on fiscal policy with direct linkages to trade policy.  The first concerned 
the make-up of tax revenues.  Until recently, half  of all government revenu es had depended on direct 
taxes and charges on imports.  Tax reforms in se veral Members were reducing this burden by 
replacing consumption taxes with trade-neutral tax es.  The implementation of such reforms was a 
massive undertaking for any government.  He asked the OECS-WTO Members that had not yet taken 
these steps whether they intended to do so, and for an idea of a timeline they might have in mind.  In 
spite of fiscal reform, fiscal dependence on trade would remain significant in light of current levels of 
tariffs and customs charges.  The latter, especially, had attracted interest from Members.  The rates 
varied from 3% ad valorem  to 10%, and could represent up to 15% of total government revenues;  this 
seemed quite high.  While Members had asked questi ons related to Article VIII of the GATT, he was 
also interested to know whether there were pl ans to reduce dependence on these charges, but noted WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 16 
 
 
 that in the last few years, movement seemed to have been in the opposite direction, as Antigua and 
Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Lucia had raised these charges. 
86. The second fiscal and trade policy issue was the prevalence of tax incentive schemes, 
including tax holidays and duty-free imports.  The ef fectiveness and efficiency of these schemes had 
been questioned by some international institutions .  It was clear that OECS-WTO Members had a 
different view on the value of these policies.  In an y event, a contribution that could be made to the 
debate could be an objective analysis of the economic benefits of these incentive programme.  
Although it seemed that there was a good grasp of their fiscal costs, there did not appear to be detailed 
factual findings on their overall economic impact.  This limited any practical recommendations that 
could be made. 
(ii) Trade policies 
87. A common theme across many areas of the OECS-WTO Members' trade policy was sub-
regional and regional integration a nd pooling of resources.  It was obvious in trade negotiations in 
Geneva, through the establishment of a common office, or in regional and bilateral trade negotiations, 
through the trade policy unit of the OECS Secret ariat and membership in CARICOM.  CARICOM 
was quite active on the regional and bilateral front. 
88. Cooperation between OECS-WTO Members also extended to policy implementation.  This 
was particularly appropriate, because of the high leve l of complexity involved, in intellectual property 
and standards.  The Secretariat had noted that  OECS-WTO Members could increase cooperation to 
promote the harmonization of standards.  In this respect, he noted that the WTO General Council had 
agreed in 2006 that small economies could use region al institutions to implement the requirements of 
the SPS, TBT, and TRIPS Agreements.  He asked whether there were concrete plans among OECS-
WTO Members to increase the use of common bodies in these areas. 
89. Limited resources, the very reason for increasi ng cooperation in trade policy implementation, 
would also contribute to lengthening the process of in tegration.  This naturally led on to an important 
area for the OECS-WTO Members:  "aid for trad e."  He agreed with a report by OECS-WTO 
Member's suggestion that "aid to trade" would see m a better label, and noted that two things had 
struck him in reading the reports for the review.  Fi rst, recent investment in the region, in the broad 
area of assistance to trade, while not insignificant, va ried widely from year to year;  this could be due 
to how and when the amounts were recorded, on the basis of commitments by donors to specific 
projects.  Second, under the topic of aid for trade, the OECS-WTO Members’ own reports covered, a wide range of broad priorities, but lacked specifi city about what they believed could be tackled 
concretely.  These two comment led to a preliminary observation:  there seemed to be no equivalence 
between the needs of the OECS-WTO Members and the ability of OECS authorities to attract the 
attention of donor organizations th at operated on the basis of specific projects.  He requested the 
views of the OECS-WTO Members on this preliminary observation. 
90. There were gaps between policies on paper an d their implementation in practice.  For 
example in import licensing, non-automatic licences still existed in the legislation of most OECS-
WTO Members, but denial of licences appeared to be exceptional.  The distance between principle 
and practice appeared to be larger in some countries,  notably in St. Lucia.  Another example of this 
gap existed in IPR protection.  Several OECS-WTO  Members, notably Dominica but also St. Lucia 
and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, had adopted year s-old laws that were not yet in force.  This 
begged the question, again, of whether a regiona l pooling of resources should be considered more 
deeply. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 17 
 
 
 (iii) Sectoral policies  
91. A striking element of the economies of the OECS-WTO Members was the importance of the 
services sectors.  This was largely explained by one sect or:  tourism.  It was generally recognized that 
a cursory reading of GDP statistics masked the impor tance of tourism, which was not fully reflected 
in the statistics on hotels and restaurants.  Th e OECS-WTO Members had made no or only partial 
commitments in construction, architectural, and en gineering services, which were essential to the 
development of the tourism sector.  Deeper commitments could reassure foreign firms and investors about the predictability of the business climate in those areas. 
92. The level of GATS commitments of the OECS-WTO Members clearly did not match the 
actual openness of OECS economies.  In practice, OECS-WTO Members clearly understood the importance of competition and of outside investme nts in small developing economies.  Broader and 
deeper GATS commitments might give  investors more confidence that  this policy was for the long 
term, and the discussant sought the policy views of the OECS Members in this regard. 
93. The reduction in the economic weight of agricultu re had had significant social consequences 
for some OECS-WTO Members.  Preference erosi on was obviously of great importance, notably as it 
related to bananas.  The countries concerned, not ably Dominica, had made significant progress in 
marketing their bananas differently, thereby trying to avoid competing only on the basis of price.  He 
asked for a preliminary account of the results achieved. 
94. Bananas were not the only crop of the OECS islands.  He asked whether marketing and 
distribution efforts were also under way for other crops, and noted the synergies that could be built 
between the tourism sector and local agricultura l producers.  Observing that there were serious 
obstacles to this, he asked whether there were projects under way to address these obstacles, or 
whether it was the view of OECS-WTO Members that their agriculture sectors should seek other 
avenues for development. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 18 
 
 
 IV. STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 
95. Members congratulated the OECS-WTO Members on the conduct of the Review, and on the 
statements made by the country representatives.  Many noted that they had submitted written 
questions, and looked forward to the replies from the OECS member countries. 
96. The representative of the United States  noted the close historic relations, based on 
geographical proximity and strong commercial ties, th at characterized the U.S.  relationship with the 
Eastern Caribbean States.  It was not surprising that many of the millions of tourists to OECS-WTO Members per year were from the United States. 
97. The United States valued its hemispheric part nership with the OECS and other Caribbean 
nations.  They had worked together since 2001 on th e "Third Border Initiative", launched by President 
Bush and the leaders of the Caribbean nations to  provide a framework for structuring engagement 
across a broad spectrum of matters that affect ed the region's prosperity and well being. 
98. The OECS-WTO Members continued to face the same challenges to their search for 
substantially higher rates of sustainable broad-based  economic growth noted in their 2001 Review.  
The WTO documentation for this TPR had cited a nu mber of economic reforms.  Nevertheless, the 
United States regretted that many of the issues  identified in 2001 had remained unaddressed.  It 
agreed with the Secretariat that the OECS trade regimes would benefit greatly from continuing to strengthen the institutional and le gal framework in areas like SPS, government procurement, and 
intellectual property protection.  In particular, th e transparency and predictability of trade regimes 
would be enhanced if reforms were anchored in the rules and disciplines of the WTO.  The OECS 
countries would benefit greatly from simplifying comp lex, if not contradictory, webs of national 
policies, regional undertakings, and multilateral agreements.  By this observation, the United States 
did not intend to fault the OECS integration effo rts;  the OECS-WTO Members' limited resources 
called for more coordination and pooling of efforts.   He expressed appreciation for their integration 
efforts through the Caribbean Single Market  Economy (CSME) which addressed many similar 
concerns.  In light of the single market, the Unite d States urged the countries to build their national 
policies and regional integration commitments for sustainable broad-based economic growth upon the 
WTO Agreements and their core principles. 
99. Taking into account the steps adopted since 2001 to observe WTO rules, priority attention 
needed to be given to making the policy and lega l changes necessary to implement WTO obligations.  
This would help the OECS governments make the refo rms needed to allow trad e to foster growth and 
development and to gain from the multilateral trad ing system.  Specifically, the OECS continued to 
lag behind in making WTO notifications and incorpor ating WTO rules fully into domestic statutes.  
As had been the case in 2001, none of the OECS c ountries appeared to have completed the steps that 
would allow them to implement the TRIPS Agreem ent.  The institutions for TRIPS implementation 
had yet to be built.  None of the OECS-WTO Members were parties to the WTO Agreement on 
Government Procurement;  lack of transparency in government procurement remained an obstacle, 
especially in those OECS-WTO Members where ther e were no legislated guidelines.  Import licensing 
continued to be widely used by all six countries fo r trade with third countries;  although most licences 
were granted automatically, and their scope ha d been reduced during the review period, non-
automatic licences were still used in every OECS country except Dominica. 
100. The OECS-WTO Members continued to rely he avily on a host of foreign trade taxes, 
consumption taxes, or other taxes on imports to colle ct revenue, although changes seemed to be in the 
works.  In 2006, taxes collected on international tr ade had represented just over 51% of tax revenue in 
the OECS-WTO Members as a whole.  The OECS-WTO Members also applied CARICOM's Common External Tariff (CET), with exceptions.  It was unclear how all of these different charges, tariffs, and exceptions fitted together as a coherent  trade strategy.  For example, the OECS applied WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 19 
 
 
 MFN at CARICOM’s CET rate.  In Grenada's case, according to th e country report, the CET rate 
exceeded Grenada’s WTO bound rates for some pr oducts.  Noting that most OECS-WTO Members 
had undertaken reforms aimed at decreasing depende nce on trade taxes, the United States encouraged 
all OECS countries to persevere in this endeavour. 
101. Although OECS-WTO Members had continued to m ove away from agriculture to services, in 
which they seemed to enjoy a comparative advant age, the problems caused by their narrow production 
base were magnified by relatively fragile fiscal  positions.  These problems could be addressed by 
reducing the numerous incentives still granted to sel ected activities;  this would reduce transaction 
costs, improve resource allocation, and help ensure the sustainability of economic growth. 
102. The WTO General Council had responded in July  2007, to the requests of the OECS-WTO 
Members to continue the extension of the transitio n period for the elimination of export subsidies.  
Updating notifications on the requests still had not been received from St. Kitts and Nevis, and from 
Antigua and Barbuda;  these were necessary for the SCM Committee to act formally, as required, by 
the end of 2007.  All OECS-WTO Members had rea ffirmed their commitment to eliminating export 
subsidies no later than 2015, without the possibility of further extension:  he asked what actions were 
being taken by each of the Members to inform inve stors currently benefiting from the schemes that 
the programmes would be eliminated by 2015. 
103. The documentation confirmed the vital role th at trade in goods and, especially, services 
played in the OECS economies.  Tourism, in pa rticular, accounted for an overwhelming source of 
trade and the potential for linkages to additiona l economic pursuits.  Licensing and registering 
property seemed to be a challenge for investors in all OECS-WTO Members.  Their efforts to attract 
additional investment were noteworthy.  He en couraged OECS countries to improve the business 
climate in order to enhance international competitiveness. 
104. Exports from OECS-WTO Members to the Un ited States had increased during the past 
several years, as had U.S. exports to the region.  OECS exports had been eligible for duty-free access 
to the U.S. market under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) since 1984.  The CBI had been 
expanded and replaced by the Caribbean Basin Trad e Partnership Act in 2000, and further enhanced 
by the Trade Act of 2002.  The United States l ooked forward to achieving consensus and thereby 
securing additional WTO waivers for the programme’s continuation. 
105. The United States had signaled its interest in  working with CARICOM, to which the OECS 
was a party, to expand the U.S.-CARICOM trade relationship.  It had submitted an updated and 
upgraded version of the 1991 U.S.-CARICOM Trad e and Investment Framework Agreement to the 
CARICOM Secretariat in May 2007. 
106. The OECS-WTO Members recognized that trad e was vital to economic well-being and had 
identified trade as a valuable development tool.  They had benefited from the multilateral trading 
system, and their interests would clearly be best served by a successful Doha Round outcome.  A 
result that included new market access in services,  industrial goods, and agriculture could provide 
further opportunities for the region to broaden its e xports and its export markets.  The United States 
hoped that these countries would be a force for strengthening the multilateral trading system. 
107. The representative of Japan  stated that Japan appreciated the solid average economic growth 
in the OECS-WTO Members since their last TPR d espite external factors.  The commitment of the 
OECS-WTO Members to the multilateral trading system  was expected to contin ue to result in steady 
economic development. 
108. Japan continued to support CARICOM members in their economic and social development 
and their integration into the global economy.  Th is support was conducted on the basis of “A New WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 20 
 
 
 Framework for Japan-CARICOM Cooperation for the Twenty-First Century” launched in 2000.  In 
particular, trade promotion in areas such as food pr oducts and intellectual property had been assisted 
in Caribbean countries through the fund created by Japan.  In addition, technical cooperation was 
granted to the fishing industry of the OECS-WTO Members. 
109. According to the Secretariat report, all OECS-WTO Members applied additional charges on 
most or all imports.  Antigua and Barbuda's customs services tax, at an ad valorem  rate of 10%, was 
higher than those of other CARICOM members.  He wondered whether this tax was in compliance 
with the “approximate cost of services rendered” in Article VIII:1(a) of the GATT. 
110. The joint review provided a good opportunity to  highlight effectively the similarities and 
differences within the examined group, and to he lp clarify the relationship between regionalism and 
the multilateral trading system.  He hoped that this joint review would contribute to policy 
adjustments by individual OECS Members, in accordance with their regional and multilateral 
commitments. 
111. The representative of Canada  noted that Canada and the OECS-WTO Members had long 
enjoyed fruitful cooperation.  The Eastern Caribbean  had been a favoured destination for Canadian 
investment, and some Canadian institutions, particul arly in the banking sector, had long histories in 
the region.  Total merchandise trade between Cana da and the OECS had almost doubled between 
2005 and 2006, to US$121.7 million.  Canada remained one of the OECS Members' top five trading 
partners.  All OECS-WTO Members benefited from the CARIBCAN preferential trade arrangement, which allowed 97% of their exports  to enter Canada duty-free.  In March 2007, the WTO waiver for 
this preference had been extended to December 2011. 
112. During his visit to Barbados in July 2007, th e Canadian Prime Minister had advanced a 
forward-looking partnership with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), including the OECS, and 
had announced a substantive increase in CIDA fundi ng to the region, Can$600 million over ten years.  
He had also introduced a new Canada-Caribbean Community scholarship programme;  extended an 
invitation to CARICOM leaders to a Canada-CARIC OM Summit in Canada in 2008;  and, in a 
meeting with CARICOM Heads of Government, had launched negotiations  toward a Canada-
CARICOM free-trade agreement that took into account  the need for continued preferential treatment 
and asymmetrical obligations.  The inaugural mee ting had taken place on 18 Oc tober 2007 in Jamaica 
and the first round of negotiations was scheduled for mid-December.  This comprehensive approach 
to the Caribbean reflected Canada’s continued commitment to further deepen and solidify its 
engagement in the region and to broaden economic integration in th e Western Hemisphere, and built 
on the role that Canada had played to assist OE CS-WTO Members in the trade policy area.  Canada 
continued to provide trade-related technical assi stance (TRTA) to OECS-WTO Members, through the 
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery and CARICOM Secretariat, in developing and 
coordinating trade policy at many levels, including at the multilateral level. 
113. Canada recognized the challenges facing the OECS  in their quest for economic integration in 
the global economy.  Canada emphasized the need for international support and attention to the 
different needs of small states and support the effo rts of the OECS and CARICOM in their advocacy 
on this subject, which was greatly enhanced by th e presence here in Geneva of a representative from 
the OECS. 
114. The significant decline in agricultural output in  the Eastern Caribbean, specifically in banana 
and sugar production, posed both economic and social  challenges.  Canada commended the OECS for 
exploring alternative markets for their agricultura l products and encouraged more production in fair 
trade and/or organic produce, which was a promising subsector in many parts of the world. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 21 
 
 
 115. Canada also encouraged OECS members to con tinue to diversify their economic base in non-
traditional sectors.  The OECS-WTO Members had made progress in opening up their telecoms markets to competition and privatization.  Canada s uggested that a similar approach be adopted with 
airport and port auxiliary services.  Progress had also  been made in the enactment of new intellectual 
property legislation.  With respect to public procurement, in some OECS-WTO Members, the 
tendering process was not legislated;  Canada believe d it would be developmentally beneficial to do 
so.  In general, Canada encouraged a better e nhancement of the regulatory and legal framework, 
which could contribute to a more transparent and efficient use of public funds. 
116. Since their first Review in 2001, OECS-WTO  Members had made significant progress in 
regional cooperation in the formulation of trade polic y, through signing a declaration of intent towards 
the establishment of the OECS Economic Union, a nd joining the CARICOM Single Market in 2006.  
Canada concurred with the WTO Secretariat assessmen t that this integration should be strengthened. 
117. The representative of Colombia
 took note of the geographic, historical, and economic ties 
between the OECS-WTO Members and Colombia.  Both Colombia and the OECS-WTO Members 
were developing countries that saw trade as a fundamental tool for their economic growth and 
improved income for their inhabitants.  Colomb ia had had an economic and technical cooperation 
agreement with CARICOM since 1994.  The funda mental objective of this agreement was to 
strengthen the trade relations and technical coopera tion between the parties through:  the promotion 
and expansion of trade in goods, with special em phasis in the initial phase, on CARICOM countries' 
exports to Colombia;  the promotion and protection of investment;  the facilitation of the creation and 
operation of mixed regional enterprises;  the de velopment of technical and scientific cooperation 
activities;  and the promotion of private sector activities.  No problems had been reported in the 
operation of the agreement. 
118. Colombia had traditionally posted a trade surp lus with the OECS-WTO Members, but the 
trade data showed great fluctuations. 
119. The OECS-WTO Members had had to struggle with the problems of economies of scale, and 
to that end had created a common institutional struct ure in the design and implementation of policies, 
including trade policy.  Nevertheless, this common institutional structure had not yet been utilized to 
develop uniform policies with respect to certain comm ercial measures, and in ensuring that all of the 
OECS Members conformed to the norms and obligati ons established in the WTO Agreements.  In this 
respect, he underlined the observation by the WTO Secretariat that the OECS-WTO Members 
generally did not maintain inventories of the sanitary and phytosanitary measures that they had 
adopted, nor did they have formal procedures to no tify their trade partners with respect to these 
measures. 
120. Services had grown and displaced agriculture and manufactures, as was to be expected in the 
economic development of a country.  This deve lopment should permit the OECS-WTO Members to 
revise their tariffs on agricultural and manufactur ed products, and to increase and improve their 
commitments on trade in services, especially in construction and architectural and engineering services, which are essential to the development of th e tourism sector that generates so much income 
to these countries.  Colombia noted that deeper  commitments could re-assure foreign firms and 
investors about the predictability of  the business climate in these areas. 
121. The representative of the European Communities
 noted that the decision to undertake the 
Trade Policy Review jointly clearly illustrated the OECS-WTO Members' commitment to regional 
economic integration and regional tr ade cooperation.  The EC was sure that this exercise would serve 
to find further grounds for continuing to work together in their regional integration. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 22 
 
 
 122. The EC noted the OECS-WTO Members' progress in terms of economic growth, and the 
steps taken to move away from ag riculture-based to services-oriented  economies.  The EC encouraged 
them to continue pursuing a sound economic reform , which should be underpinned by an improved 
fiscal position, and a subsequent progressive reduction of fiscal constraints in terms of public debt.  
As stated in the WTO Secretariat's report, trade in goods and services played a vital role in the OECS-
WTO Members' economies, representing some 123% of  their aggregate GDP in 2005.  The OECS-
WTO Members saw trade at the heart of developm ent, and they gave key importance to economic 
reform, including trade liberalization, as an essential tool to make progress on their economic objectives. 
123. The EC acknowledged the substantial difficulti es encounter by the OECS-WTO Members in 
their reform process.  Because of their small size and very narrow economic base, they suffered from 
diseconomies of scale, which, alongside human capita l constraints and transport challenges, were 
deterrents for making further progress.  Regional in tegration and the creation of a genuine regional 
market was of utmost importance in overcoming the se difficulties.  In this context, she stressed the 
necessity to continue making progress in the consol idation of the CARICOM regional integration.  
Comprehensive regional integration between the CA RICOM Members would be instrumental for the 
economic prosperity of the region.  Therefore, th e EC encouraged the OECS -WTO Members to make 
sure their regional commitments were implemented so as to build up into further and effective 
integration of regional markets. 
124. In light of the great benefits regional inte gration brought to OECS-WTO Members, the EC 
had engaged into “region-to region” trade ne gotiations, under the framework of the Economic 
Partnership Agreements negotiations, which aime d to replace the current and expiring ACP trade 
preference system by new WTO-compatible trade ag reements.  The EPA with the Caribbean region 
was negotiated on a “region-to-region” basis in orde r to provide further impetus to the integration 
process in the Caribbean region, as the EC considered  this crucial to foster stability, progress, and 
sustainable development.  The EPA would also help  to develop larger and more stable economies, 
able to attract investment.  Given the tight d eadline, the EC again encouraged the OECS-WTO 
Members to engage actively in the EPA negotiations  so as to bring them to a successful and timely 
conclusion. 
125. With respect to trade-related technical assistan ce and aid, EPAs, as tools for development, 
served to identify detailed areas of technical as sistance, capacity and institution building and 
regulatory reform that the Caribbean region needed .  The Review had also served this objective and 
had been a good opportunity to jointly identify ar eas where assistance could be useful for improving 
the trading capacities of the OECS-WTO Members.  The EC and its Member states had been working 
with the OECS-WTO Members for a long time in th is regard, donating aid and providing technical 
assistance in key trade-related disciplines in the fra mework of the ACP cooperation, at both regional 
(CARICOM) and subregional (OECS)  levels.  Aid and trade-related technical assistance had been 
given in almost all sectors, bot h with a view to strengthening fundamental capacities, supporting 
regional and subregional integration, boosting trad e, spurring sustainable economic reform, and 
assisting with emergency relief and r econstruction after natural disasters. 
126. There were several other areas where further improvements to OECS-WTO Members' 
policies and practices could benefit them as we ll as other WTO Members.  The EC had submitted 
detailed questions on a number of measures and sectors and looked forward to the replies.  In 
particular, the EC was interested to learn a bout how the OECS-WTO Members addressed the link 
between trade and sustainable development;  in par ticular, how they planned to integrate the three 
pillars of sustainable development, i.e. the econo mic, social, and environmental components, into 
their national strategies for developing the tourism s ector.  In addition, the EC stressed the need for 
greater attention to fundamental transparency  obligations under the WTO Agreements, and WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 23 
 
 
 encouraged the OECS-WTO Members to comply with  their notification obligations, in particular as 
regards customs valuation and import licensing procedures.  
127. The OECS-WTO Members and the EC shared a keen interest in upholding and strengthening 
the WTO system, including, via the successful conc lusion of the DDA negotiations.  The OECS-WTO 
Members had a major stake in achieving an ambiti ous and comprehensive outcome that promoted 
economic growth and development by  creating new trading opportunities, meaningful new trade flows 
in agriculture, NAMA, and services, and broadening export markets.  The EC looked forward to working with the OECS-WTO Members to bring the DDA to a successful conclusion. 
128. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 observed that the OECS-WTO Members and Hong 
Kong, China had maintained good trade relations, and that there was great potential for expansion in 
terms of trade volume.  The OECS-WTO Members viewed trade as a crucial element in their development and had further liberalized their trad e regimes and streamlined customs procedures since 
their first Review in 2001.  He encouraged them  to continue the liberalization and streamlining 
processes, and to enhance the transparency of th eir trade regimes further by making the relevant 
notifications to the WTO. 
129. Services had a dominant and growing share of OECS-WTO Members’ economies, accounting 
for 80% of their GDP in 2005.  While OECS-WTO Members’ efforts in liberalizing the telecoms 
sector were appreciated, there would be potential benefits from taking further GATS commitments in 
certain other sectors.  The Secretariat Report had not ed that tourism and related industries represented 
their most important economic activities.  Furthe r liberalization in hotel and other travel-related 
services could help strengthen their tourism industr y and overall economic and social development.  
Hong Kong, China encouraged OECS-WTO Members to participate more actively in the services 
negotiations and table offers in line with their deve lopment situation as soon as possible, in particular 
in tourism and travel-related services commitments. 
130. The representative of Brazil
 congratulated the governments of the OECS-WTO Members for 
adopting policies and regulations that had led to trade liberalization and, consequently, increased 
growth and diversified development.  The Br azilian delegation took note of the OECS-WTO 
Members’ efforts to promote the tariffication of quan titative restrictions on products, the reduction of 
non-tariff measures, and the rationalization of cust oms procedures.  Further steps toward trade 
liberalization would allow the OECS-WTO Members to make better use of the opportunities offered 
by the international market. 
131. The representative of El Salvador  observed that her country hoped to promote reciprocal trade 
with the OECS-WTO Members;  to this end nego tiations for a free-trade agreement with CARICOM 
had been launched on 10 August 2007.  The aims of this proposed agreement were to obtain two-way 
benefits from the complementarity of the economies of the parties, to increase exports, and to 
strengthen cooperative ties.  Observing that the CARICOM market comprised 15 million consumers, 
she noted the opportunities that a trade agreemen t would provide for Salvadoran exporters of 
industrial and agroindustrial products. 
132. The OECS-WTO Members had made an important contribution to the working group on aid 
for trade, where they had helped to identify th e infrastructural needs for improving the supply of 
goods and services and diversifying the economy.  They  considered that aid for trade was important 
due to the costs of readjustment associated with  trade liberalization and economic reforms, and in 
order to improve productive capacity and supply. 
133. The OECS-WTO Members had been in the small economies group:  among the proposals 
advanced by the OECS-WTO Members and El Salvador  was one that had led, in July 2007, to the WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 24 
 
 
 decision by the WTO General Council to allow a delay until the end of 2015 for the dismantling of 
export subsidies. 
134. El Salvador urged the OECS-WTO Members to c ontinue to strengthen their institutional and 
juridical resources in such areas as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, government procurement, 
competition policy, and the protection of intellectua l property rights, with a view towards increasing 
the transparency and predictability of their trade regimes. 
135. The representative of the Separate Customs Te rritory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu 
(Chinese Taipei)  noted the OECS-WTO Members’ impressive economic and foreign trade 
performance in recent years;  growth during 2005-06 ha d been at its strongest in more than 15 years, 
driven by recovery in tourism and constructi on.  The OECS-WTO Members had achieved average 
growth of some 3.4% over 2001-06.  Real GDP growth for the OECS region had been 5.8% in 2005 
and 7.1% in 2006. 
136. The small size of OECS-WTO Members made them vulnerable to diseconomies of scale, yet 
they had been making efforts to harmonize their tr ade policies.  OECS-WTO Members saw trade as a 
crucial element in their development;  there w as increasing recognition of the potential of trade 
liberalization to advance wider economic objectiv es, so that economic reforms were increasingly 
viewed as necessary and desirable.  The IMF had forecast GDP growth of 4.4% for 2007 for the 
OECS-WTO Members, with growth supported by the implementation of major infrastructural projects 
in most countries. 
137. The OECS-WTO Members continued to require technical assistance on trade policy and 
regulations, to increase the number of trade experts in the region, and facilitate the establishment of 
relevant institutions to improve WTO complian ce.  Chinese Taipei had undertaken a number of 
institutional capacity-building projects in the Caribbe an over the past few years, including assistance 
to three East Caribbean nations in upgrading medica l hardware in 2005.  Chinese Taipei had also held 
technical assistance projects and training courses centred on agriculture, custom valuation, and SPS, among others. 
138. The representative of Jamaica
 noted the striking, constant cycle of development in which the 
six OECS-WTO Members had been engaged due to the inherent structural and other constraints 
associated with being small island developing economi es.  Within the context of the work programme 
on small vulnerable economies, Jamaica had alwa ys sought to bring these constraints and 
vulnerabilities to the attention of the WTO memb ership.  The OECS-WTO Members now faced a 
more demanding external environment and their situation was exacerbated by their vulnerability to 
exogenous shocks.  The economic landscape for these countries had changed over the years, 
particularly as a result of the changes in their traditional preferential market access for bananas and 
sugar.  With preferential access no longer certain, the OECS governments had sought to develop 
further their services sector in order to respond to global competitive challenges.  Nevertheless, some 
structural characteristics seriously affected thei r development prospects, including their ability to 
attract much-needed foreign investment.  These char acteristics included:  the highly open nature of 
their economies;  the large and persistent defic its in the external current accounts;  the high 
dependence on trade taxes as a source of reve nue;  the severe diseconomies of scale and scope 
applicable to production and trade as well as to pu blic sector administration;  the narrow range of 
economic activities and a narrow export base;  and the susceptibility to and the disproportionate 
economic impact of natural disasters. 
139. Notwithstanding the difficulties faced by the OECS-WTO Members, they deserved to be 
commended for their economic performance and efforts at  macroeconomic stability.  After nearly flat 
GDP growth in 2001-02 after the 11 September attack s, growth and recovery were expected, through 
continued diversification, including through the deve lopment of the services sector, output expansion WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 25 
 
 
 in the manufacturing sector, measures to address tax administration reform and adjustment, and an 
anticipated reduction in external debt and fiscal imbalances through reduced public-sector involvement on capital projects. 
140. The OECS had highlighted the importance of trade as a vehicle for promoting development 
objectives and, as a consequence, any trade liber alization commitment undertaken needed to be 
commensurate in depth and scope with their levels of  development, resource availability, and share of 
world trade.  This was the basis on which the OECS had participated in the multilateral trade 
negotiations through its technical mission in Gene va.  The case of the OECS-WTO Members, and of 
the small, vulnerable economies, required that the WTO pay more attention to the relationship 
between size, openness, and growth and development.  This was a complex relationship that could not 
be easily argued away through greater liberalizat ion and deeper and wider commitments.  The 
situation of the OECS and other small economies need ed to be examined in order to develop creative 
responses to their peculiar needs and constraints.  This Trade Policy Review exercise was very timely 
as the WTO Members were currently engaged in negotiations on the modalities for agriculture and 
NAMA.  Jamaica was pleased that both reports identified in a frank manner the structural features of 
these countries and the development challenges faced within the context of an evolving multilateral 
trading system.  A more positive response was needed  in terms of enhanced flexibilities, special and 
differential treatment, recognition of the need for policy space, and the need for careful management 
of the pace of liberalization to ensure orderly adjustment by local industries and sectors and to 
minimize economic and social dislocation. 
141. Both reports had underscored the importance of  regional integration, both among the OECS-
WTO Members themselves, and within the CARICOM framework.  It was clear that an important 
aspect of the response by the OE CS Members to the changing global environment was through their 
active participation in their ow n sub-regional integration process and within the wider CARICOM 
context.  An important adjunct to this were the various bilateral and hemispheric preferential trade 
arrangements to which the OECS Members were party;   they would serve to diversify export markets, 
build competitiveness, and facilitate adjustment and smooth and effective participation in the global 
economy.  Both the OECS Economic Union and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy were 
mechanisms for building resilient and competitiv e economies.  The OECS Members had a sterling 
history of regional institutional, financial, func tional, and diplomatic in tegration, and Jamaica 
welcomed their further attempts to create an ec onomic union through the creation of a single market 
and economic space that would result in the completion of the 40 year-old integration process in their 
sub-region. 
142. The representative of Barbados
 recalled that with a shared geographic and regional single 
market space, the Caribbean Single Market and Ec onomy (CSME), Barbados was fully cognisant of 
the daunting challenges confronting the small and resource-constrained economies of the OECS-WTO 
Members.  These countries were seeking to promot e their social and economic development through 
participation in the multilateral trading system.  Ba rbados applauded them for their resilience in the 
face of continuing difficulties.  The OECS-WTO Members continued to be among Barbados' leading 
trading partners, representing the only market with wh ich Barbados had a constant surplus in its trade 
in goods. 
143. The reports prepared for the Review presente d evidence of inherently fragile economies, 
where a combination of external conditions and even ts, including the continued erosion of preferences 
in key agricultural produce and the impact of natu ral disasters such as hurricanes, had largely shaping 
the direction of economic developments over the revi ew period.  In spite of these events, there had 
been modest growth from 2001-05, and this growth  had increased recently, particularly through 
activities in tourism and construction.  However, growth recorded could not be considered in 
isolation, as it was coupled with an increasing le vel of unemployment and debt, demonstrating the WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 26 
 
 
 complex and multi-dimensional lens from which th e problems of these small, vulnerable economies 
should to be viewed. 
144. In Barbados in July 2007, the CARICOM Head s of Government had declared the significance 
of agriculture to the region, not only in econom ic terms, but as an expression of a distinctive 
Caribbean way of life.  Barbados therefore remain ed concerned over the general decline of traditional 
agricultural industries, particularly due to preference  erosion in the case of bananas, and the impact on 
the sustainable livelihood and economies of the OECS-WTO Members and their people.  With 
services accounting for over 80% of economic activ ity in these Member States, Barbados supported 
the important steps being put in place to enhance the legislative and institu tional framework necessary 
to create a more favourable environment for trade, investment, and development. 
145. Among the major hurdles to be addressed were the OECS-WTO Members' supply-side 
constraints, and the need to enable them to incr ease production of goods to a llow them to benefit from 
any market-access opportunities from the Doha Round.  The Aid for Trade initiative was one of the 
mechanisms that could provide these countries with the assistance to do this, and hence the concerns 
of non-LDC developing countries such as the OECS shoul d form an integral component of the Aid for 
Trade programme. 
146. The OECS institutional mechanism already repr esented an important and successful platform 
within the CSME initiative and the intended economic  union would be a further strengthening.  As a 
small, vulnerable economy, Barbados also saw th e importance of regional integration to enhance 
markets, strengthen competitiveness, and reduce vu lnerability from fuller integration into the 
international trading system.  In this Review, Ba rbados hoped that the conditions contributing to the 
OECS-WTO Members’ participation in the WTO would be  considered, in order for them to be able to 
realize the objectives highlighted above. 
147. The representative of Nigeria  stated that the Trade Policy Review Mechanism remained a 
valuable forum for achieving transpar ency and serving as an input to trade policy formulation.  It was 
encouraging to note, that since their last review in 2001, the OECS-WTO Members had taken steps to 
liberalize trade, including the elimination of import quotas and the reduction of their use of non-
automatic licensing.  Another area of commendation was the adoption of legislative and institutional 
improvements to facilitate trade in various activiti es, as well as the strengthening of the institutional 
and legal framework in areas such as SPS, gove rnment procurement, competition policy, and 
intellectual property protection.  All these measures were aimed at enhancing the transparency and 
predictability of the OECS-WTO Members' trade regimes. 
148. Despite challenges to the OECS-WTO Members' tr ade regimes, participation in international 
trade had enabled services exports to grow to meet  most of their domestic needs.  It was also 
important to note that the OECS-WTO Members had successfully moved away from reliance on agriculture to services, notably tourism and offshor e services.  It was therefore not surprising that 
tourism was the most important economic activit y in the sub-region.  However, Nigeria was 
concerned about the wide disparities in and among th e member states which had resulted in a high per 
capita cost of social and economic infrastructur e, as well as vulnerability to external shocks. 
149. He noted with satisfaction that nearly all OECS-WTO Members had increased their 
notifications, in spite of difficulties associated w ith human resource limitations.  It was therefore, 
important for Members to take into consider ation the OECS-WTO Members' small size and 
development needs by granting them the necessary fl exibilities to hasten thei r integration into the 
multilateral trading system.  In this context, assistance was needed th rough the aid for trade 
mechanism, to address their infrast ructural needs and to improve the delivery of goods and services. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 27 
 
 
 150. Nigeria was proud of its long-standing political and historical ties to the OECS-WTO 
Members and attached importance to the realization of regional integration.  This principle had 
already produced some practical results, but economic  relations between member states needed to be 
strengthened, since OECS Members faced a multitude of external challenges and engaged in a wide 
variety of trade frameworks.  Ther e was also an urgent need for favourable treatment that explicitly 
catered to the special circumstances of the small economies, as in the OECS sub-region.  The major 
challenges to the Eastern Caribbean States co mmunity were:  achieving production and trade 
diversification, enhancing touris m potentials, and rehabilitating domes tic infrastructure, with a view 
to improving the business climate.  The OE CS-WTO Members should to be supported through 
increased technical assistance in this regard. 
151. The representative of India  recalled that the OECS-WTO Members were small, with a 
combined population of just over 500,000 and GDP of US$3.8 billion;  their economies were resource 
constrained.  The OECS-WTO Members were susceptible  to natural disasters;  limited diversification, 
due to a very narrow resource base and small domestic market;  limited domestic and export 
production;  inadequate infrastructure;  and low leve ls of productivity.  Their economies had grown at 
an average collective real rate of 3.4% during 2001- 06.  The public debt, despite a reduction, had still 
been 103% of GDP in 2006, representing a significan t constraint to fiscal policy.  The share of 
agriculture had been declining, while services acco unted for over 80% of GDP.  The merchandise 
trade balance was structurally negative, with a defic it of 39% of GDP in 2005.  In contrast, the surplus 
in the services balance had been almost 20% of GDP in 2006. 
152. There were many positive developments as far as the OECS-WTO Members were concerned.  
A report produced by the World Bank Group ranked St. Lucia first in the OECS on the overall ease of doing business, followed by Antigua and Barbuda.  All OECS-WTO Members were in the top half of 
the 175 economies reviewed. 
153. The OECS-WTO Members had taken steps since th eir previous review in 2001 to liberalize 
trade, including the elimination of import quotas, a reduction in the use of non-automatic licensing, 
the adoption of legislative and in stitutional arrangements to facilitate trade, and the strengthening of 
their SPS, legal and institutional framework.  They  had undertaken reforms aimed at decreasing 
dependence on trade taxes, thus enhancing the transpar ency and predictability to their trade regimes.  
Members needed to fully understand and to exte nd support to OECS-WTO Members as their narrow 
production base made them vulnerable to external shocks, and this was magnified by their relatively 
fragile fiscal positions. 
154. India’s trade with the OECS-WTO Members wa s modest but increasing:  India hoped that 
accelerated growth would continue in the year s ahead in economic, commercial, and technical 
cooperation relations. 
155. The Members under review continued to face significant human resource, financial, and 
technical challenges that limited their further inte gration into the global economy and the  pace of 
their implementation of obligations.  In this rega rd, the international community should assist the 
OECS-WTO Members in areas identified by them. WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 28 
 
 
 V. REPLIES BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF ST. LUCIA ON BEHALF OF THE 
 OECS-WTO MEMBER STATES AND ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 
(i) Economic and institutional environment 
156. The representative of the OECS-WTO Members st ated that the OECS Heads of Government 
had recommitted themselves to the pursuance of the OECS economic union.  A draft treaty of union 
had been prepared and was about to be put into public discussion.  A programme of public education 
and sensitization around the proposed treaty was to be  undertaken.  At the conclusion of this process, 
the treaty would be further modified and then put to the Parliaments of the member states for adoption.  It was hoped that this exercise could be concluded in the next two years. 
157. The OECS had a rich tradition of sharing institu tions and they intended to build upon this in 
the context of the deepening of the OECS inte gration process.  Common institutional development 
was contemplated in several trade-related areas to make effective use of the limited resource capacity 
of the OECS Member States and improve effectiv eness in implementing obligations.  Thought would 
be given to a regional mechanism to assist Member States in implementing the TRIPS agreement.  A patent act was being prepared for the region w ith the assistance of a competent international 
organization, and a draft should be ready for consid eration by the member states by mid 2008.  This 
was also being addressed in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy integration programme, of 
which OECS-WTO Members were a part. 
158. As they sought to improve their economic envi ronment, all OECS-WTO Members had agreed 
to undertake fiscal reforms, including the restructuring of their tax systems.  Some countries had already started this process.  The intent was to put  in place forms of transaction-based taxes, and to 
look at other areas.  This was expected to be executed within the medium-term. 
159. The importance of attracting foreign direct i nvestment could not be  understated and the 
OECS-WTO Members regarded their incentives progra mmes as critical for this purpose.  While there 
was no overall compendium of empirical data on th e economic benefits of the programmes, specific 
examples existed in St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lu cia where incentives granted to large hotels were 
able to stimulate links with other economic sectors in agriculture, fisheries, and manufacturing, 
thereby stimulating economic activity. 
160. The OECS-WTO Members welcomed the d ecision by the Committee on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures to extend the waiver of Article 27.4 until 2015 for certain members.  The 
OECS member states had already engaged in consul tations on the new deadline date with investors 
benefiting from the affected provisions.  Some  countries had already commenced the process of 
changing their domestic legislation to make their investment policies WTO compliant. 
161. The procedures for acquiring land for invest ment purposes were clearly outlined in 
investment promotion material.  As they sought to  improve and modernize their investment climate, 
the OECS-WTO Members needed to address the pr ocedures for the access to land, which should be 
streamlined and implemented more efficiently, with  due regard to concerns over depriving their 
citizens of continued access to land. 
162. The OECS welcomed the significant attention be ing given to Aid for Trade, or "Aid to 
Trade".  It was the OECS's view that Aid for Trad e (Aid to Trade) should address the real transition 
and production needs of their countries.  Therefore,  it needed to go beyond mere technical assistance 
for implementation.  In this regard, there were cer tain critical areas of need to be addressed.  These 
included but were not limited to:  production a nd trade-related infrastructure, such as port 
improvements and other transpor tation-related requirements;  human resource development to WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 29 
 
 
 improve productivity;  and support for the adoption and adaptation of technology, including ICTs and 
research and development into low cost energy options.  
163. As small economies that were highly vulnera ble it was important that the OECS-WTO 
Members' resources were used sust ainably to ensure continued bene fits to their citizens.  As a 
consequence, the OECS had sought to integrate th e relationship between sustainable development and 
trade into all trade negotiations in which it was engaged.  
164. In conjunction with the rest of CARICOM, th e OECS was now exploring several possibilities 
while seeking the renewal of those that existe d.  The OECS-WTO Members looked forward to 
achieving consensus in the WTO, and securing th e waiver for the CBTPA.  They were moving 
towards the conclusion of the EPA negotiations, whic h should usher in a new era in their relationship 
with the EC.  They welcomed the announcement by th e Prime Minister of Canada with respect to the 
renewed emphasis on the Caribbean and the role of trade and development in promoting that 
relationship, and looked forward to the opportuni ty to engage in new trade and investment 
arrangements.  They also looked forward to the o pportunity to engage the U.S. Government in new 
trade and investment arrangements between the United States and the region. 
(ii) Trade policies by measure 
165. The OECS-WTO Members noted the questions raised regarding the application of the 
Customs Service Charge (CSC).  Several of their delegations had been in dialogue with other WTO 
Members on issues pertinent to the ongoing tax reform  process in their region.  Matters that arose 
from the application of the CSC would be considered within these reforms.  
166. With respect to Article VIII of the GATT 1994, which referred to the levying of charges that 
approximated the cost of the services rendered, the OECS-WTO Members noted two points, not as 
justification but as an indication of the myriad concer ns with which they continued to grapple.  First, 
the OECS-WTO Members continued to confront the rising cost of services, including security 
services and additional direct costs related to the services of customs officers, and computerization, 
among others.  Second, their limited capacity as small states had rendered it far more prudent for them 
to levy an approximate average cost, which worked  well for low valued tariffs lines, but which tended 
to over-compensate for the cost of services rendered in  the instance of high valued tariff lines.  In the 
application of the CSC within the context of their general reform programme, attention would need to 
be placed on averaging out the approximate cost of services. The OECS states intended to bring this 
seeming inconsistency into conform ity with their multilateral commitments, within the shortest time-
frame commensurate with the general pace of their tax reform process. 
167. It had been noted that there was "a gap betw een principle and practice".  The OECS Members 
were affected by resource limitations, particularly in the area of legislative drafting, and while efforts had been made to overcome this through common drafting arrangements, the volume of work 
involved still imposed significant challenges.  Nevert heless, where it was possible to introduce certain 
policy measures in advance of full legisl ative changes, this had been done. 
168. Some licensing requirements were still in place for statistical and administrative purposes, 
and these licences were granted automatically.  In so me other instances, licences were required in the 
interest of national security, especially for the im portation of weapons, explos ives, and other volatile 
products. 
169. The point had been made that none of th e OECS-WTO Members was party to the WTO 
Agreement on Government Procurement and that the lack of transparency in government procurement 
remained an obstacle, especially in those OECS-WTO  Members with no legislated guidelines.  Within 
the regional integration process, the OECS Member states, as part of the Caribbean Community, were WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 30 
 
 
 moving towards a regional government procurement framework.  This process would lead to the 
establishment of a regional best-practices regime fo r the full operation of the CSME.  Further regional 
initiatives on government procurement would include the development of a regional policy, which 
would guide the Community in the development of a protocol on government procurement.  
Currently, now, large-scale and internationally funded projects were subject to open procurement 
procedures. 
(iii) Trade policies by sector 
170. The economies of the OECS were being transf ormed, as a consequence of economic growth 
and development and of declini ng production of traditi onal preference commodities, in the face of 
increased producer uncertainty and declines in expor t prices.  Since 2001, the OECS-WTO Members 
had diversified within agriculture through renewe d emphasis on non-agricultural exports to both 
traditional and non-traditional markets.  Productio n of agri-processed products for the sub-regional 
and regional markets continued to be strong for a limited number of products .  While several other 
agricultural products continued to demonstrate so und potential, various structural problems had 
constrained their development.  Domestic productio n for food security, based on the premise of rural 
and livelihood security, continued to form an important and stable component of the OECS’ 
agricultural system.  
171. Niche marketing strategies for bananas were be ing pursued, both within the region and in 
international markets under the Fair Trade label.  There had been some encouraging early results.  
This did not, however, obviate the continuing need  for the long-standing preferential arrangements 
from which they had benefited in the past.  Effort s were being made in th e production and marketing 
of other agricultural products, such as root crops, fr uits, vegetables, and fisheries.  Linkages had been 
established between agriculture and tourism:  fo r example, in some islands some agricultural 
production was being targeted specifically at the hot el sector.  Efforts were already being made to 
strengthen these linkages through special project s supported by institutions such as the Inter-
American Institute for Co-operation in Agricultu re (IICA).  Hence the importance of pursuing the 
inclusion of special products for developing countri es in the context of the Doha Round negotiations 
on agriculture. 
172. Tourism was one of the largest industries and one  of the fastest growing economic sectors in 
the OECS.  The sustainable development of th e industry was of utmost importance, as it was 
necessary to ensure that the environment was not adversely affected.  The OECS was seeking to 
develop the tourism industry, while respecting th e socio-cultural authentic ity of host communities, 
conserving their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contributing to inter-
cultural understanding, especially with the indigenou s populations.  Tourism development plans were 
aimed at ensuring viable, long-term economic opera tions, providing socio-economic benefits to all 
stakeholders, including stable employment and in come-earning opportunities and social services to 
host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.  With a view to encouraging the 
distribution of tourism income, they sought to develop community festivals, the supply of local 
agricultural goods and fisheries and to foster stronger ties between the hotels and their neighbouring communities. 
173. The services sectors had continued to grow, both in  relative and absolute terms.  Services now 
comprised a significant portion of both OECS domestic economic activity and OECS foreign 
exchanges earnings.  The services sector accounted for 75%-80% of GDP, and generated employment 
for an important component of the workforce.  The importance of a range of services such as 
agricultural research, financial services, ICT, profes sional services, entertainment (cultural) services, 
tourism, and maritime transport, had been me ntioned in the OECS Trade Policy Framework. WT/TPR/M/190 
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 174. In order to achieve the OECS-WTO Members'  economic development objectives, the service 
industry associations needed to be regionalized, domestic regulatory frameworks needed to be 
strengthened, and existing WTO-c onsistent economic incentives needed  to be extended to service 
firms.  Particular attention was needed on de veloping competitive business and professional services 
as well as strengthening service enterprises’ capac ity for quality assurance and innovation.  Export 
earnings from tourism needed to be assured by increasing revenues from stay-over visitors and 
revenues from cruise ships.  Economic growth in ser vices needed to be supported by cost-competitive 
telecommunications and Internet access, growth financing for service firms, and an efficient 
transportation infrastructure. 
175. The OECS-WTO Members were committed to prog ressive liberalization with the appropriate 
regulatory framework.  In accordance with Article XI X (2) of the GATS the process of liberalization 
would take place with due respect for national pol icy objectives and with consideration for their 
varying levels of development.  However, ther e was already a high degree of openness in the 
construction and architectural sectors as many devel opments were funded by international public and 
private finance and were, therefore, s ubject to open procurement procedures. 
176. The discussant  observed that two major themes had em erged from the first day’s discussion.  
One was the importance of regiona l integration for OECS-WTO Members.  He highlighted the 
importance of the economic union project;  this wo uld be a difficult undertaking that would pose 
many challenges and should to be seen as a long-term goal.  It was important, therefore, to focus on 
step-by-step integration, including possible consider ation of regional integration on TRIPS.  Some 
bodies existed at the CARICOM level, and it was still an open ques tion how the OECS-WTO 
Members could make best use of these bodies and rationalize the use of its resources. 
177. The other general theme was the importance of ta x reforms.  He noted the intention to move 
ahead with broad tax reforms in all of the six me mbers.  OECS-WTO Members had linked this reform 
effort with the possible review of customs charg es:  increased efficiency and decreasing costs might 
allow for the diminution of these fees at the border.   On fiscal reform, he recalled the commitment of 
the OECS-WTO Members to phase out their export subsidies;  they had made a clear policy statement on fiscal incentives.  The discuss ant asked that the countries reflect upon the need for greater 
transparency in the provision of fiscal incentives,  as well as how the structure of these programmes 
related to the general objective of economic diversification. 
178. On the deepening of commitments in servi ces, the discussant acknowledged the need to 
establish sound economic regimes.  He suggested th at the OECS-WTO Member States reflect on the 
recent progress in certain sectors, and on the way their services schedules could be drafted with flexibility in order to accommodate future regulatory regimes. 
179. There had been comments regarding the need fo r additionality in "aid  to trade" and he 
underlined the value of the TPR process as a means for identifying specific projects. 
180. The discussant appreciated the gap between practice and principle in the drafting of 
legislation, for example in the granting of licenses.  He invited the OECS-WTO Members to look at how their regulatory regimes might be modified into  order to ensure that principle was adapted to 
progress.  The OECS-WTO Members had very sp ecific objectives in the WTO negotiations, and 
intended to increase their presence and engagement in  the WTO.  In an environment of give-and-take, 
other WTO Members should be able to respond favour ably to many of the positions taken by these 
countries. 
181. The representative of the United States
 encouraged the work that was going on in regional 
integration, notably in the area of TRIPS;  There was a commitment to have something ready by mid-WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 32 
 
 
 2008.  He asked for some elaboration on how the en forcement aspect of TRIPS would be handled at 
the national or regional level. 
182. Recalling that the WTO had provisionally agreed , in January 2007, to a new agreement on 
government procurement, he strongly encouraged th e OECS-WTO Members to take that text into 
account as they were working on a new framework, so that they could be in a good position to join the 
GPA and enjoy its many new benefits.  For many of  the large projects the OECS already had an open 
procurement regime, which could be taken into account for the market-acc ess commitments to be 
taken. 
183. The United States appreciated the strong commitment made by each of the OECS-WTO 
Members to eliminate export subsidies by 2015.  It was also encouraging that consultations had begun 
with investors in this regard.  Noting the importance that the countries attached to export subsidies, he 
was interested in hearing how these consultations had developed, and the ideas on how to achieve 
conformity.  The OECS-WTO Members could make a r eal contribution in this area by showing their 
experiences with other countries subject to this commitment. 
184. The representative of the European Communities  appreciated the comments regarding plans 
for a regional government procurement framework and the proposed steps towards economic union.  
She encouraged efforts to fulfil the transparency commitments in WTO Agreements, together with 
steps towards further economic diversification.  She reiterated the importance of integrating 
economic, social, and environment components of su stainable development into national strategies, 
and appreciated the remarks made regarding the linkages between the agricultural and tourism sectors.  Comprehensive regional integration remained of  utmost importance, and that was why EPA 
negotiations were so important.  She hoped that both sides would e ngage further in these negotiations 
in order to conclude them in a timely and successful fashion. 
185. The representative of Canada
 stated that Canada was heartened by the moves towards 
regional integration;  an economic  union had moved from a distant dream to an approaching reality.  
Noting that St. Lucia reserved investment in hotels be low an internally recognized standard, he raised 
questions with respect to what was understood by internally recognized standard, and how that was 
reconciled with St. Lucia's GATS commitments.  Cana da wondered if the issue would be addressed in 
St. Lucia’s next services offer.  For Dominica and Gren ada, useful clarifications had been provided to 
questions raised previously, and ask ed if these would be reflected in the next services offers of those 
countries.  This would be useful for transparency purposes. 
186. The representative of Japan  underlined the positive effect of computerization in the customs 
sector.  Japan was looking forward to the results of  the financial reforms, including those affecting 
customs charges. 
187. The representative from Grenada  stated that the economic union process in the region had 
borrowed from the experiences of the European Un ion and federalism in the United States.  The 
OECS had already achieved a vast measure of integr ation, as demonstrated by the establishment of an 
East Caribbean Central Bank and a stable EC dollar.  The TPR process pointed to the importance of 
the economic union for the region, in the sharing of resources in areas such as TRIPS.  The OECS-
WTO Members contemplated a Commission-type stru cture that would include a unit dedicated to 
fielding issues in the negotiation and implementation of topics such as TRIPS and competition policy.  The economic union process was one very key response in amalgamating resources in addressing these implementation issues. 
188. Another key issue was how to deal with the im plementation of TRIPS.  There was already an 
OECS Supreme Court that was the supreme judi cial authority on matters arising from the 
implementation of the revised Treaty of Basseterre.  It was contemplated that this OECS Supreme WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 33 
 
 
 Court could adjudicate these matters in the firs t instance, including the commitments that the 
countries undertook multilaterally. 
189. On government procurement, he assured Memb ers that there was a duality between the 
responses heard in the TPRB and the reality on the gr ound.  The concern of small service suppliers in 
the region was that they were already being out-compe ted for government contracts, and that this had 
intensified in recent years.  Competition came not only from industrialized countries, but also from 
very powerful developing-country firms.  The OE CS-WTO Members were trying to deal delicately 
with this matter, on a plurilateral basis, with a vi ew to crafting a framework that accommodated the 
concerns of small, domestic suppliers  that had to deal with subsidized  financing and other challenges.  
Firms from Martinique and Guadeloupe already co mpeted very freely in projects such as runway 
resurfacing and road construction, and companies fr om Canada and the United States participated in 
such sectors as hotels and architectural services.  The actual level of participation could be much higher than was suggested by the lagging statistics,  but the countries had taken note of the concerns 
expressed and intended to follow through on these matters. 
190. The OECS-WTO Members incorporated perhaps th e most pristine marine space in the world, 
namely the Grenadines and Tobago Keys, and presen ted a very good example of how to harmonize 
the political, the economic, and the environmental di mensions mentioned by the EC.  Protection of 
this area had benefited from EC assistance and e xpertise, as well as local resources and knowledge. 
191. The representative from the OECS Secretariat
 acknowledged the Members' interest on 
institutional development in the economic union, and observed that the OECS-WTO Members had 
had a rich experience in this regard and had deve loped arrangements that had been used as models 
worldwide.  For example, in telecommunications  liberalization, they had developed the first 
multilateral system of liberalization in this sector .  These institutional arrangements would enable the 
OECS-WTO Members to deal with some of the areas that had been identified in the Review, such as 
TRIPS and SPS. 
192. He addressed the incentives framework work  and the commitment for a phase-out of 
subsidies.  He stated that work was emerging in a regional context for dealing with the incentives, and 
in the development of an arrangement to deal with this issue in a WTO-compliant manner.   
193. He underscored the importance that the OECS a ttached to aid for trade, and identified a 
number of critical elements for the OECS-WTO Memb ers.  One was the principle of additionality, 
rather than transferring previously committed res ources.  Another was flexibility, in which they 
wished to be sure that aid for trade was deliver ed in a very flexible manner and was devoid of 
stringent conditionalities.  Thirdly, aid for trad e should go to the heart of the adjustment and 
adaptation process. 
194. The representative of St. Lucia, on behalf of the OECS-WTO Members , thanked the 
Members for their comments.  The OECS-WTO Memb ers trusted that their responses had provided a 
sharper perspective on some of the peculiarities of their development. 
195. Their small vulnerable economies, although bound to gether by several threads, were not like 
contiguous portions of land sharing common boundari es;  they were divided by the Caribbean Sea.  
This emphasized the importance of common action a nd collaboration in the effort to promote their 
development.  The liberalization of the telecomm unications sector was a case in point.  The OECS-
WTO Members had made improvements in some ar eas but still had a long way to go.  They were 
sometimes seen only in terms of economic statisti cs, which did not cover the huge troughs between 
rich and poor and could not measure the diseconomies caused by smallness.  WT/TPR/M/190 
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 196. There had been a perception in certain quarters that they had been slow to liberalize and that 
by hastening to do so, liberalization would bring ta ngible benefits, as it had in the more developed 
world.  However, liberalization ha d generated mixed results:  their e xperiences with bananas, sugar, 
trade in textiles, and trade in services were notable examples;  they had opened their markets to trade 
in goods and they had lost production capacity.  Fu rther, the lucrative markets where they had once 
traded their produce had slammed their door shut. 
197. There were no safety nets to underpin the mo st vulnerable members of their society as they 
could not afford these.  Social adjustment could be  done in an orderly manner only by the creation of 
employment, which by extension was expected to  create wealth through trade and commerce.  
However, this could only be achieved by comm on understanding and goodwill.  They needed support 
to develop the necessary infrastructure and the accompanying regulations to support their trade 
adjustment.  What was recorded in their second TPR  by the WTO Secretariat was a positive indication 
of their commitment to the WTO and a forward stride towards compatibility. WT/TPR/M/190 
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 VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 
198. The second Trade Policy Review of the Organi sation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) 
WTO Members has allowed this Body to appraise in detail the evolution of their trade policies since 
2001.  I thank Minister Mayers, Minister Cort, Minister Straker, Ambassador Antoine, Mr. James and 
Mr. Berridge, as well as the other members of thei r delegations.  I would also like to thank the 
discussant, Mr. Cliche, and Members who engaged in the discussion as part of this exercise. 
199. Members noted that the six OECS-WTO Member s reviewed face economic challenges, many 
of which stem from their small size.  This Re view has also shown how OECS countries have 
coordinated and pooled their resources, seeking to  overcome their individual constraints.  Their 
greater involvement in regional integration schem es was seen by some Members as the best and 
perhaps the only means to overcome human resource limitations.  In this regard, the establishment of 
a joint OECS technical mission in Geneva was seen as important, as  were ongoing efforts to set up an 
OECS Economic Union. 
200. This Body warmly welcomed the OECS-W TO Members commitment to a rules-based 
multilateral trading system, and to the process of trad e liberalization as a tool of development.  The 
OECS-WTO Members outlined the difficulties they f ace in taking full advantage of global trade due 
to their smallness and vulnerability to external s hocks.  Overcoming such difficulties would offer the 
opportunity to develop more dive rsified and robust economies.  The Aid for Trade initiative could 
also play a central role in this respect , although there is no prioritization as yet. 
201. Members noted that taxes on imports make key fiscal contributions in all the OECS countries 
reviewed.  However, some Members questioned the OECS application of ad valorem  customs service 
charges;  although the OECS countries consider the charges necessary, they  are in the process of 
reassessing these and other taxes.  The OECS-WTO Me mbers were also invited to consolidate their 
fiscal reform processes, including through the st reamlining of their numerous incentives regimes. 
202. OECS countries noted their progress towards meeting WTO obligations but recognize that 
some weaknesses persist.  Participants appreciated the OECS-WTO Members' modernization and 
liberalization of their trade regimes.  However, OE CS countries were urged to give priority attention 
to making the policy and legal changes necessary to  implement their WTO obligations.  Areas where 
improvements were deemed necessary include WT O notifications, applie d versus bound tariffs, 
customs valuation, non-automatic licensing, sanitary  and phytosanitary measures, and protection of 
intellectual property.  In response, OECS-WTO Me mbers expressed their intention to improve their 
levels of compliance but stressed the importance of having the time and assistance necessary to achieve this. 
203. Members observed that economic restructur ing in the OECS-WTO Members has been 
accompanied by the expansion of the services sector.  Members commended the five OECS 
signatories to the ECTEL Treaty for their efforts to liberalize their telecommunications sector.  
Considering the importance of services for their econo mies, and the actual generally liberal nature of 
their service regimes, the OECS-WTO Members were invited to make deeper and wider commitments under the GATS.  The countries reviewed provided re plies to service-related questions concerning 
activities such as tourism and telecommunications. 
204. In conclusion, Members acknowledged the progress made by the OECS countries reviewed in 
restructuring their economies, while recognizing th e challenges they still face.  Members offered 
strong encouragement to the six countries to pursue fu rther reforms.  They also  urged them to enhance 
the transparency and predictability of their trad e regimes by expanding the scope and improving the 
implementation of their WTO commitments.  This would help the OECS-WTO Members to attract the foreign direct investment they need to strengt hen their economies.  Trading partners can support WT/TPR/M/190 
Page 36 
 
 
 these efforts by providing appropriate technical as sistance to support greater OECS participation in 
the multilateral trading system.  OECS-WTO Members could consequently take greater advantage of 
trading opportunities to foster growth and development. 
205. I would like to close this review by thanking once again the delegations of the OECS-WTO 
Members, the discussant, and the Members that took part in this meeting for contributing to an 
informative review.  I would also like to express my appreciation to the delegations of the OECS-
WTO Members for the responses provided during the meeting.  We look forward to receiving the outstanding responses within the next month. 
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