The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The positions taken by the Bahamas in trade agreement negotiations with Canada are “less liberalised” than both the National Investment Policy and this nation’s Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) commitments, a senior official has told Tribune Business.

Vianna Gardiner, the Government’s newly-appointed director of trade, said that with the Bahamas among Canada’s leading trading partners in the CARICOM region it was “very important” for this nation to “get it right” when it came to a replacement for the existing CaribCan trade agreement.

Confirming that the talks with Canada were being handled regionally, on behalf of all CARICOM countries, through the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN), Ms Gardiner said the Bahamas had met all deadlines set for it to submit its various sector positions.

“There were certain deadlines set by the OTN, and we met those deadlines for setting out our position,” she told Tribune Business. “My understanding is that we would have replied on all the sectors required of us, and the specific statement was made that we met all our deadlines.”

Referring specifically to the service and investment sectors, Ms Gardiner added: “The Bahamas’ position would have been at a lower threshold than our National Investment Policy and what our services and investment threshold would have been under the EPA.

“It was less liberalised. It doesn’t hurt us in any way, or hurt any sector.”

Whether such positions will be acceptable to Canada remains to be seen, as it is likely to want the Bahamas to at least match what it committed to with the European Union (EU) under the EPA.

With all trade agreement negotiations, the Bahamas and other countries put forward positions - known as ‘offers’ - on specific sectors such as agriculture, goods and market access, and then negotiate with the other sides to get the terms they want.

The initial offers are often just the ‘opening salvo’, and countries often commit to less than they are prepared to, in terms of opening up specific sectors and their overall economy, as a negotiating ploy.

Canada, given its proximity and heavy presence in the Bahamas, particularly when it comes to financial services and foreign direct investment (FDI), is a key trading partner for this economy - arguably more so than the EU.

OTN data ranked the Bahamas, along with Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, as being the three “most dynamic” Caribbean states in attracting inward Canadian FDI inflows.

Between 1987 and 2009, Canadian inbound FDI to the Bahamas grew at an annual 9 per cent rate, with this nation attracting $11.7 billion in 2009 - bettered on by Barbados, thanks to its double tax treaty with Ottawa.

That advantage, though, has been somewhat negated through the Bahamas obtaining similar tax benefits with Canada by virtue of its Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA).

Acknowledging how vital the Bahamas’ trading relationship with Canada was, Ms Gardiner said: “We’re keeping a close eye on it, because it’s important to us, as with all the others.

“As we’re monitoring and fulfilling our obligations under the EPA, we’re similarly monitoring and staying engaged with Canada.

“From a services and FDI perspective, it is very important. If you look at Canada’s trade with the region, the Bahamas is very high up in terms of the volume of business between Canada and the CARICOM countries.

“For the Bahamas, CaribCan will be the second fully-fledged trade agreement we’ve entered into after the EPA, so each time we go down this path we’re conscious of getting it right. Canada is such a large and close market to us, which makes it very important.”