The Sixth Round of CARICOM-Canada Negotiations

Knutsford Court, Kingston Jamaica.

3rd March to 9th March 2014

 

 

 

The sixth round of negotiations for CARICOM-Canada Trade and Investment Agreement was held at Knutsford Court in Kingston, Jamaica from the 3rd of March to the 8th of March, 2014. Director General of the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN), Ms. Gail Mathurin, welcomed the delegation and explained that the sixth round of negotiation would be done in a two-part series with the second half reconvening at the beginning of April in Ottawa.

The sixth round of negotiations covered topics of Trade-Related Agricultural Cooperation, Trade in Services and Investment, Financial Services, Investment, Intellectual Property and Innovation, Institutional Issues and Dispute Settlement and Environment.

For both Parties round six of the negotiation presents investment opportunities. The private sector can keenly note that areas of interest for Canadian investors are in construction, energy, forestry, mining, gas, tourism, manufacturing, and environment and in the areas of the service sector interest lies in tourism, environment, computer and professional related services and construction. The top areas for CARICOM are in manufacture of food products, manufacture of textiles, aquaculture, renewable energy, electric power generation, transmission and distribution, manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds, printing and reproduction of recorded media, manufacture of machinery and equipment, manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, collection of hazardous waste, computer programming, sound recording and music publishing activities, and scientific research and development.

It is imperative that both sides be able to identify each other’s sensitivities, continue the national consultative processes and conclude this agreement in a timely and successful manner by June 2014.

 

Submitted by

Directorate of Foreign Trade

11th March, 2014