The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL civic activist Pastor Eddie Victor believes the country’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is a threat to the economy and to workers.

Mr Victor, founder of Coalition of Concerned Citizens, stressed every Bahamian ought to be concerned about it.

“We are hearing much about the Bahamas’ accession to the WTO—every Bahamian across this country needs to be concerned about our entry into the WTO,” said Mr Victor.

The Bahamas is the last nation in the Caribbean region, and in the Western Hemisphere, which is still not a member of WTO.

WTO was established on January 1, 1995 on the signing of the Marrakesh Agreement. It is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations and is dedicated to facilitating trade between member states.

The Bahamas applied to become a member of WTO in 2001. There are 164 countries who have joined WTO, representing more than 98 percent of total world trade. There are 22 ‘observers’, most seeking membership. The Bahamas has observer status.

In order to join WTO, the Bahamas government must ensure that its legal and regulatory framework is compliant with WTO rules. To align its national legal framework with WTO rules, certain legislative amendments must be implemented and the operations of certain institutions will have to be modernised, including the Customs Department, the Registrar General’s Department, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

The government will also be required to make tariff commitments on imported goods, as well as commitments on the level of openness of various services sectors within the Bahamian economy.

Pastor Victor believes joining WTO will not be beneficial for The Bahamas.

“The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is what our country is known, but when we really look at it wealth is not common in our country. And so, the greatest resource that country has is its people,” he said.

“We believe it is time for people across the country to unite together and work together to bring paradigm shift in our country where Bahamians have opportunity to prosper.”

He noted that recently the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and the Employers Federation released the WTO impact accession report that was conducted by Oxford Economics.

“Now, this report raised several concerns about the Bahamas’ readiness for accession into the WTO. And the consultant said that joining WTO does not solve the structural problems in the Bahamas.

“And we believe that the Bahamas’ entry into WTO is a threat to the economy and to workers across our nation,” Pastor Victor said.

In an effort to provide Bahamians with vital information on WTO and how it will affect them, Pastor Victor said the Coalition of Concerned Citizens and the Coalition of Labour Union hosted a town meeting last night at Mary Star of the Sea Auditorium. The featured speakers were attorney Paul Moss and Gilbert Morris.

Zhivargo Laing, WTO chief negotiator for the Bahamas, however, believes that this country would benefit by joining WTO.

Last November, he argued that full WTO membership will provide the platform for the Bahamian private sector to expand beyond this nation’s borders and grow gross domestic product (GDP) by millions of dollars, since it will provide “certainty and fair treatment” for both local and international investors.

Mr Laing said also the Bahamas would better secure market access for its products, services and exporters under the WTO’s rules-based regime, while foreign investors will have more clarity over which industries they can invest in and the rules protecting their capital.

He also argued full WTO membership, which the Bahamas hopes will be ratified by mid-2020, will ensure this nation “does things for ourselves” in modernising the Bahamian economy through initiatives such as competition law and intellectual property rights protection that will help domestic businesses to grow.

“Your competition rules, your intellectual property rights, all of the things Bahamian business people want to happen to give them transparency and certainty in operating in the country will extend to international investors,” he added. “You make the jurisdiction more attractive for doing business as a Bahamian and international person.”