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./ STATEMENT BY
PRIME MINISTER
MOST HON. P.J. PATTERSON, ON, PC, QC, MP
AT
SIGNING OF CARICOM COSTA RICA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
MARCH 9, 2004
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Salutations
Mr. President, we began this journey to a CARICOM/Costa Rica Free
· Trade Agreement some 20 months ago when the 23rd Meeting of the
Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM agreed to the
negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement with Costa Rica.
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The finalisation of the Agreement in a technical meeting on January 17-18
2004 after consultations to accommodate certain decisions of the 24th
meeting of Conference, is a testimony to the hard work and dedication of
our negotiators and our shared commitment to the deepening of the
relations between our Community and Costa Rica.
When the Heads of Government agreed to the negotiation of this FTA
they did so against the background of deep historical and cultural ties that
bind the peoples of our region and Costa Rica together.
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I recall my visit to Limon in 2001 where I saw firsthand the impact of the
people of the Caribbean on the development of Costa Rica and the legacy
of the Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a hero of Jamaica and a
great son of the Caribbean.
In signing this agreement today we honour this great legacy which is
rooted in culture as much as it is rooted in commerce and development.
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The Community and Costa Rica occupy a common space in the new global
environment. As small economies we face common challenges as we seek
to promote growth, prosperity and progress for our citizens.
The realities of this new global environment demand that as developing
countries in general and smaller economies in particular we deepen our
alliances and strengthen our cooperation to meet these new challenges.
This agreement is an important part of the Community's response to
these challenges. It will make an important contribution to our goal of
widening and deepening the process of economic integration in the
Caribbean and provide new opportunities for growth and development.
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The Establishment of a CARICOM / Costa Rica FfA will create
opportunities to build new markets for our products, promote investment
and create jobs and bring new and exciting opportunities for growth and
development to the peoples of the region.
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It will also improve our capacity to collaborate in the wider trade arena at
the hemispheric and global levels where we are making efforts to move
the FfAA process forward and to revive the negotiations under the Doha
agenda in the WTO. We should collaborate in the effort to ensure that in
these efforts the interests of our countries are fully taken into account.
Ninety per cent (90%) of goods will receive duty-free access immediately
upon its entry into force.
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There are also provisions for the phased reduction of duty for certain
goods and the exclusion from free trade of certain sensitive products.
In the area of agriculture, we seek to complement each other through the
use of a seasonal list which enables each party to provide duty free
treatment for products for periods when production within the particular
country is low.
We have also agreed to further explore opportunities for dealing with
Trade in Services Investment, and Government Procurement, within a
period of two years following the entry into force of the Agreement.
The Agreement also provides for greater transparency and we have
committed to ensure that all laws, regulations and decisions that are
relevant to the Agreement will be provided to each other in a timely
manner.
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It is now up to our farmers and our manufacturers, our entrepreneurs and
our workers to ensure that this Agreement lives up to its promise of
stimulating growth and development. It is firms that trade, not
Governments, so in the final analysis this is an Agreement for our
productive sectors. I urge representatives of the CARICOM and the Costa
Rican private sectors who are with us today, to spread the word about
this agreement and prepare to take full advantage of the opportunities
that it provides.
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