CONTACT Magazine (Vol.18 No.3 – December 2018)

30
Trinidad
and Tobago Chamber
of Industry and Commerce www.chamber.org.tt/contact-magazine
Country/
country
grouping
United States
of America
Market
size
(2017,
millions)
Name of trade agreement/date of
signature
325.7 Caribbean Basin Economic
Recovery Act
Signed: January 1984
United States-Caribbean Basin
Trade Partnership Act
Signed: October 1, 2000
Date of expiry: September 30, 2020
Canada 36.7 Caribcan
Signed: November 28, 1986
Date of expiry: December 31, 2023
Caricom 18.2 Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas
establishing the Caribbean
Community (Caricom), including
the Caribbean Single Market and
Economy (CSME)
Signed: July 5, 2001
Costa Rica 4.9 Caricom-Costa Rica Free Trade
Agreement
Signed: March 9, 2004
Dominican
Republic
10.8 Caricom-Dominican Republic Free
Trade Agreement
Signed: August 22, 1998
Type of
agreement
Unilateral
One-way
arrangement
in favour of
Caricom
Unilateral
One-way
arrangement
in favour of
Caricom
Free trade
agreement
Two-way
arrangement
Free trade
agreement
Two-way
arrangement
Main provisions
The agreement contains chapters related to:
establishment of common external tariff, rules of
origin, product specific rules of origin, freedom
of transit, internal taxes and other fiscal charges,
quantitative restrictions, subsidies and dumping
safeguards.
The agreement and its protocols contain articles
related to: market access, temporary admission
of goods, rules of origin, product specific rules of
origin, customs procedures, sanitary and
phytosanitary standards, and technical barriers
to trade
The agreement contains articles related to:
market access, rules of origin, product specific
rules of origin, technical barriers to trade,
sanitary and phytosanitary measures, safeguards,
unfair trade practices, anti-competitive business
practices, and customs cooperation
Opportunities available
• Duty-free access for goods into the United
States
• Duty-free access for most goods into
Canada (does not cover textiles, footwear,
luggage, leather garments, lubricating oils
or methanol)
• Free movement of skills/labour, goods,
services, capital, and the right of
establishment among all Caricom member
states (except The Bahamas and
Montserrat)
• Free trade in all products among Caricom
member states
• Framework for the regional harmonisation
of issues such as government procurement
and e-commerce
• Free trade in a wide range of goods and
elimination of non-tariff barriers
• Duty-free access for a selected list of
agricultural products on a seasonal basis
• Duty-free access for electrical products
produced in free trade zones
• Mechanism for settlement of disputes
• Joint Council framework to facilitate
expansion of the agreement and address
trade issues
• Free trade in a wide range of goods
• Future negotiation of access for service
providers in various sectors such as
tourism, financial and professional services
• Joint Council framework to facilitate
expansion of the agreement and address
trade issues
• Duty-free access for a selected list of
agricultural products on a seasonal basis