The Tribune

The Government’s reconstituted trade negotiating bodies face a “huge task”, its chief negotiator acknowledged yesterday, adding that his appointment showed it wanted to “accelerate” the Bahamas’ accession to full World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership.

Philip Galanis, principal of the HLB Galanis accounting firm, told Tribune Business that while the Government had set “no timelines” for the Bahamas to become a full WTO member, it was likely to be at least an 18-24 month exercise.

He confirmed that the Bahamas Trade Commission, consisting of private sector representatives, had been reformed in March, with a mandate to represent the business community’s various positions on trade issues.

The Trade Commission will also be responsible for educating the Bahamian people on trade, and what it means to their lives, and is planning to conduct a first public survey on the topic next month.

Mr Galanis, meanwhile, said himself and the Government’s alternate chief trade negotiator, former Securities Commission chief, Hillary Deveaux, headed a 15-person negotiating team that would negotiate the terms of the Bahamas’ WTO accession directly.

The other 13 members are permanent secretaries and senior officials from government ministries and bodies that will be directly impacted by the Bahamas’ entry into the global economy’s rules-based trading regime, such as the Governor of the Central Bank of the Bahamas.

“The Government is committed to accelerating the discussions on WTO,” Mr Galanis told Tribune Business, implying that his appointment, and “reconstitution” of the Trade Commission, was evidence of this desire.

“I’m convinced the Government is committed to doing it, but doing it seriously, and in a way that can provide advantages to Bahamians in a global environment.”

Mr Galanis acknowledged that and enormous amount of work awaited the Trade Commission and the Government’s negotiating team, both in achieving the best possible WTO membership terms and preparing the Bahamian public and businesses for how it will impact them.

“There’s a tremendous education process that’s going to be undertaken,” the former PLP MP and Senator told Tribune Business. “Our task is very onerous, but we’re not daunted by it at all.”

He added that a primary function of the Trade Commission will be “to make sure the public is aware of what trade is, and what it’s all about; what is and is not permissible; and how the agreements we sign on to integrate into everyday activities”.

Mr Galanis said this effort would be kick-started shortly with a public survey, which seeks to establish “a baseline” of where the Bahamian people are on trade issues.

“The Trade Commission is going to be conducting a survey on trade, which we’re hoping to get started next month,” he added.

“We’re hoping to establish a baseline of persons’ attitudes, concerns and expectations about trade. There will be another one down the road.”

Mr Galanis said the reformation of the Trade Commission meant there was little danger that the Bahamas’ WTO accession would slip past the private sector unnoticed, or that the Government would unwittingly commit to terms that place local businesses at a disadvantage.

“What the Government has done in reappointing the negotiating team, it is committed to moving the process forward,” Mr Galanis told Tribune Business.

“We have been given no timelines, but this is evidently an 18-24 month exercise; a process that involves a lot of discussion and debate in the public domain about the threats, opportunities and benefits that arise from WTO.”

The timing of the Bahamas’ accession to full WTO membership is not in its hands. This nation is currently negotiating with a ‘Working Group’, made up of nations such as the US, Canada, European Union (EU) and other Caribbean states, who have an interest in trading with it.

These negotiations with the ‘Working Group’ representatives will determine the Bahamas’ terms of trade and its membership, as they will finalise which sectors of the economy will be ‘liberalised’ - opened up to foreign companies and workers.

Corporate Bahamas will also have to rapidly adjust to operating under rules-based trading regimes once this nation joins the WTO, as this is the body that sets the terms for all global trade.

Mr Galanis said the import duty/tariff cuts announced in successive Budgets were an unspoken move by the Government to prepare for WTO and trade liberalisation, as such taxes are viewed as ‘barriers to trade’ that must be abolished or reduced to the bare minimum.

“Over the past 10 years, since the commitment was made to join the WTO, our Customs duties have fallen gradually every year in anticipation we were going to enter into WTO,” he revealed.

“The Government has been doing positive steps without indicating what the long-term objective is.”

Mr Galanis has effectively taken over the post of lead trade negotiator from Raymond Winder, Deloitte & Touche (Bahamas) managing partner (and Baha Mar receiver), who was handed the job by the former Ingraham administration.

His ‘alternate’, Mr Deveaux, who is now a consultant to the Ministry of Financial Services, the ministry primarily responsible for trade matters, chaired the services negotiating group for the short-lived Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) project.

Trade specialists, though, have previously told Tribune Business that it is highly unusual for countries to name private sector professionals such as Messrs Winder and Galanis, both accountants, as their lead negotiators. Such a role normally goes to senior public officials.