CARIFORUM and UK EPA Study

At the CARIFORUM level, the notable differences in the levels and speed of development among the States and the need for variable geometry, has resulted in the absence of seamless market access commitments. This is due to the partial participation of CARIFORUM States in most sectors, the sometimes widely differing regulatory requirements across sectors, as well as a plethora of different market access liberalization commitments by CARIFORUM States. This will likely present a complicated market access environment to potential UK services providers and investors, which may ultimately have a dampening effect on the overall level of inward investment activity, as well as the level of services supplied by the UK to CARIFORUM. On the other hand, the conditions of market entry into the UK for CARIFORUM services providers under the CARIFORUM-UK EPA are not very onerous, as there are not very many market access limitations for the cross-border supply of services (i.e., Modes 1 and 2), while limitations on Mode 3 access mainly impact or seek to constrain large resource rich countries, which have expansive foreign direct investment agendas. At the same time the UK has provided CARIFORUM with largely unlimited market access for the supply of services via Mode 4, although this is within a much smaller segment of services sectors than that available for access via the other three modes. This is compounded by the fact that the UK employs more stringent regulations for Mode 4 relative to its OECD counterparts, though it has been assessed to be among the least restrictive countries in terms of services sector regulations, overall, making it a potentially more welcoming environment than its EU and OECD counterparts for CARIFORUM’s wider services trade and investment activities.

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