The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

AROUND eight countries have expressed interest in The Bahamas’ initial goods and services offers to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the country’s lead negotiator has confirmed.

Zhivargo Laing, a Cabinet minister under the last two Ingraham administrations, said that of the WTO’s 164 member countries “not more than eight” had taken an interest in The Bahamas’ offers.

“How many members do you think have taken an interest in The Bahamas’ offer? It isn’t eight. There aren’t but but eight counties who have said: ‘Can we talk about some things?’ They aren’t talking about a lot of things, but they are important. I am having bilateral [talks] with not more than eight countries,” he said.

Mr Laing said the US was “asking the most questions”, and “occupying most of the time”, in the negotiations over The Bahamas’ accession to full WTO membership. This is not surprising given that the US is by far The Bahamas’ largest trading partner, accounting for most of this nation’s near-$3.5bn annual import bill and close to $500m in exports.

Mr Laing, who addressed last week’s Grand Bahama Business Outlook conference, said 70 per cent of this nation’s economy was already exposed to free trade. “Seventy per cent of the economy already operates within the strictures of the WTO,” he added.

“I’m really not having a 100 per cent negotiation with anybody. I am having negotiations on the restricted sectors, about 30 per cent of the economy. If we are successful in our negotiations with the WTO there is no question that the average tariff rate in The Bahamas will reduce from 30 per cent or so to about 15 per cent.”

Mr Laing had previously revealed that The Bahamas’ fourth meeting with the WTO Working Party, made up of nations interested in trading with this country, has now been pushed back by a further month from March to April 2019.

The Working Party will negotiate the terms of The Bahamas’ accession, and the delay gives the government extra time to consult with the private sector and specific industries on how this nation should respond to the questions and requests prompted by its initial goods and services offers.