RNM UPDATE 0301

February 11, 2003

Prepared by the Communications Division of the Caribbean Regional

Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), this electronic newsletter focuses on the RNM,
trade negotiation issues within its mandate and related activities.

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Special Issue: THE RNM AND CARIBBEAN TRADE POLICY – YEAR IN REVIEW

- NEWS BRIEFS

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After a hiatus, RNM UPDATE is now back on stream. This issue of the publication will
focus on RNM institutional developments and also review the external trade negotiation
agenda of the Caribbean. In an interview with RNM UPDATE the RNM Director
General, Ambassador the Honorable Dr. Richard Bernal, O.J., reflected on institutional
developments and developments as they relate to the external trade negotiation agenda in
2002.

RNM UPDATE (RU): Ambassador, what have been the main institutional changes which
you have implemented since you became Director General in December 2001?

AMBASSADOR: “I was determined to build a new RNM. I wanted to see it become

more user-friendly, consultative and responsive to its board of directors - meaning
Member State Prime Ministers, Ministers and to Government Officials, as well as the
business sector, trade unions, NGOs and other civil society groups. Being more
consultative is to our advantage as the information and perspectives garnered from our
stakeholders enriches our negotiation positions. I want the RNM to function as the
service organization that it is and increase its efficiency and efficaciousness in responding
to stakeholders. We now have in place a strong communications programme which,
amongst its other outreach tasks, is working on re-vamping the RNM’s website. We also
have a well-known business executive as our private sector advisor and we are in the
process of creating a Private Sector Advisory Council. I also have the benefit of the
advice of a team of Associates who comprise such internationally recognized persons as
Sir Alister McIntyre, Ambassador Havelock Brewster, Professor Vishnu Persaud, and Dr.
Peter Gonzales.

Secondly, the structure of the RNM had to be substantially re-organized to strengthen its
technical and improve its administrative capacity. New technical staff members have
come on board. The RNM also now has a Services Unit – complementing the existing
Agricultural Trade Negotiating Unit. In respect of administration – the RNM, last year,
also brought on board a Director of Finance and Administration. A Director of Technical
Cooperation and Partnerships has also been brought on board to handle our donor
relations. Whilst the RNM still falls short on its in-house technical expertise, it has
strengthened its pool of technical staff so as to better service a complex and exponentially
increasing workload. Indeed, the increase of RNM specialized technical expertise has
come at a time when there has been a qualitative change in the nature of international and
hemispheric trade negotiations because we have past the preliminary stages of such
negotiations. The negotiations have gone beyond the stage of general principles to
specifics, which require a more in-depth type of technical work and a more sophisticated
form of diplomacy.”

RU: What is the “new RNM”?

AMBASSADOR: “I have introduced a new culture in the RNM which emphasizes

transparency, accountability, consultation, teamwork, responsiveness to stakeholders,
rapport with the political directorate, partnerships with international and regional donor
institutions and cooperation with regional organizations. The RNM is a service-oriented
organization, which provides the technical advice to guide the region in formulating
positions which when approved by Prime Ministers and Ministers constitute our
mandates in external trade negotiations. The RNM also organizes and facilitates
consultative meetings among technicians, senior officials and the private sector. It is the
private sector, after all, which trades not governments.”

RU: What have been the major challenges in 2002 for the RNM?

AMBASSADOR: “There is the enormity of the task of the packed negotiating agenda,
which puts a considerable strain on the human and financial resources of the region,
particularly the smallest governments, where institutional capacity is severely
constrained. In addition, the RNM has to rely not only on Member States but also on
international and regional donor institutions for resources. Another challenge has been to
get some of our stakeholders to appreciate the gravity of the situation and to secure their
full participation in the on-going trade negotiations. A major achievement has been the
re-organization of the RNM while simultaneously handling an increased technical and
representational workload. We must remember that the last year, especially, has seen a
qualitative and quantitative increase in the technical work emanating from the various
external trade negotiations. We worked under considerable pressure to meet deadlines
across the various trade negotiating arenas.”

RU: What are the tasks which confront the Region in the external trade negotiations?

AMBASSADOR: “September last year saw the formal launching of negotiations

between the EU and the ACP. In November 2002 the Region entered the final phase of
negotiations towards a FTAA. Consider as well the WTO Doha Agenda, and we quickly
see that the external trade negotiation agenda is wide-ranging and complex, in many
cases addressing issues that are new to our Member States. These issues include:
services, investment, market access, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, government
procurement, anti-dumping, and competition policy, to name but a few.”

RU: What are some of the specific issues of concern to the Region?

AMBASSADOR: “First and foremost, special and differential treatment for small
developing economies, in particular Small Island Developing States. Second, the issue of
TRIPs and public health has yet to be reconciled. Progress in this area will be an
important indicator of developed countries’ commitment in helping developing countries
advance in the multilateral trading system. If developed countries show no empathy on
issues of public health, what is likely to be their posture on contentious issues, such as
agriculture, services and investment? Third, the regional economic partnership
agreements and how the ACP Group will operate in the first year of the negotiations.”

RU: What are some of the things that Member States need to do in order to strengthen
their participation in external trade negotiations?

AMBASSADOR: “The Region needs to strengthen its capacity to handle new trade
issues, such as competition policy, dispute settlement and government procurement for
example. The RNM is in the process of preparing several technical background studies in
these areas. However, it must be recognized that the implementation of the CARICOM
Single Market and Economy must keep pace with external trade negotiations because (a)
it is an important preparatory stage whereby firms would use this experience of the
regional market to prepare themselves for global trade; and, (b) the Protocols of the
CSM&E should form the foundation for common positions in external trade
negotiations.”

RU: How will the Region cope with the current deadlines in the main negotiating arenas?

AMBASSADOR: “By the middle of this year there will have to be a technical and
political stocktaking as to whether it will be feasible to complete the FTAA by December
2004. Similarly, the outlook for WTO negotiations is not encouraging given the
acrimonious stalemate in many aspects of those negotiations, hence WTO Members
falling behind the ambitious deadlines ministers set for global trade talks in November
2001. In addition, the current state of the world economy and the impending US war on
Iraq does not auger well for global trade talks. All this will force an evaluation of how
realistic the 2005 deadline is. As regards ACP-EU negotiations, a successful all ACP first
phase of the these negotiations will require CARICOM to widen and strengthen its
diplomacy to reinforce strategic alliances with developing countries with a view to
enhancing the Region’s leverage in the negotiations with the EU.”

RU: What are the key challenges for the RNM and its Member States in 2003?
AMBASSADOR: “They include, but certainly are not limited to, coping with a
negotiating agenda which is increasingly complex. This will necessitate not only
technical work of the highest calibre, but also maximum unity, cooperation, and
coordination among RNM Member States in support of common positions in the various
external trade negotiations. Member States must be willing to ensure complementarity
between national goals to guarantee a united front, which can maximize the leverage and
influence, which a single small developing country cannot possibly exercise alone.
Regional positions must have sufficient flexibility to ensure that a consensus, which
encompasses the range of national interests, can be forged. Breaking ranks after being a
participant in a common regional position must be avoided so as not to jeopardize the
credibility of the Region and more so individual governments.”

RU: Many stakeholders seem to lack information on trade negotiations, what is the RNM
doing to address this?

AMBASSADOR: “This is the new RNM. The new culture of the RNM is one of
consultation as a means of formulating regional positions. Through our programming we
facilitate this by organizing technical working groups, reflection groups and consultations
with Member State Government officials, the private sectors and civil society,
respectively. Ultimately, this approach will allow the emergence of the most technically
sound and widely discussed negotiating positions, which have the participation and
support of a variety of stakeholders. The involvement of all stakeholders gives legitimacy
and ownership of the negotiating positions to those whose interests they are intended to
advance. Participation in the various consultative fora serves to alert governments and the
business sector to the need to begin a proactive process of strategic global repositioning.
The adjustment and transformation, which this entails, must begin immediately in order
to ensure that when the prospective trade agreements come into effect, Caribbean
economies will be able to compete effectively and seize opportunities to diversify their
economic structures by developing new export sectors. Participation will enhance an
appreciation of the opportunities, difficulties and costs inherent in the implementation of
the prospective trade agreements. Ultimately, this approach will enable the RNM to
better advance a cohesive and effective framework for the coordination and management
of the Region’s external trade negotiating resources and expertise.”

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NEWS BRIEFS

Fourteenth Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development Convened

COTED met at the officials level from the 29th to 30th January and at the Ministerial level
from the 31st January to the 1st February. The RNM team, at COTED, was led by its
Director General Ambassador the Honorable Dr. Richard Bernal, O.J.. The RNM
reviewed the current state of negotiations and preparations in the external trade
negotiating theatres (WTO, ACP/EU and FTAA) for COTED. In addition, the RNM
presented thematic papers highlighting the work being done in respect of deadlines in
agriculture and services negotiations at the WTO and FTAA. Finally, the RNM
presented, for COTED’s consideration, its strategic plan and work programme.

RNM Briefs Washington Institutions

Director General of the RNM, Ambassador the Honorable Dr. Richard Bernal, O.J., and
Director of Technical Cooperation and Partnerships Dr. Derrick Brown, held discussions
with senior officials of the World Bank (on February 6th), the OAS Trade Unit (on
February 6th) which has collaborated on numerous occasions with the RNM in the past
and an important donor the Inter-American Development Bank (on February 7th). They
presented the Strategic Plan of the RNM and discussed possibilities for further
collaboration and support. On February 6th Ambassador Bernal also addressed the
influential think-tank Inter-American Dialogue on the Caribbean perspective of the
FTAA. He also met, on the same day, with the Woodrow Wilson International Center on
a programme to engage parliamentarians in trade issues.

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For More Information Contact:

Nand C. Bardouille
Tel: (246) 430-1678
email: nbardouille@sunbeach.net