Enhancing India CARIFORUM Economic Relations and Prospects for Cooperation

to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The Agreement was inspired by the need to promote an expanded economic space for regional trade and investment, as well as to foster economic integration. The Agreement covers trade, tourism, transportation, trade promotion and financing, business facilitation etc. The CARICOM also has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Dominican Republic, which was signed in 1998. The Agreement addresses major trade areas such as trade in goods and services, economic cooperation, and government procurement. Other bilateral trade agreements signed by CARICOM are with Venezuela (1993), Colombia (1994), and Costa Rica (2004). The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) came into being on June 18, 1981, and is dedicated to the regional integration in the Eastern Caribbean. The OECS is an eleven member grouping comprising of the member states of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. These members are part of the Economic Union and received the full benefits of Economic Union like free movement of people and goods, with the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe as associate members of the OECS. 14 In 2008, the CARIFORUM countries entered into a partnership with the European Union (EU). This partnership, officially called the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement was signed in October 2008. Apart from trade in goods, this agreement also includes commitments on trade in services, investment, trade-related issues such as competition policy, government procurement, intellectual property rights, as well as sustainable development aspects. 15 Post the BREXIT, the UK has sought to replicate trade agreements with its existing trade partners. Therefore, in March 2019, the CARIFORUM and UK signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The UK is one of the main markets for CARIFORUM exports to the EU. Additionally, the UK remains an important market source for tourists to the Caribbean. The EPA replicates the institutions under the CARIFORUM- EU EPA, such as a joint CARIFORUM UK Council, and CARIFORUM-UK Trade and Development Committee. The US, which is the largest trading partner, had launched the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) in 1983, through the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA). As per the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), “The CBI is intended to facilitate

14 OECS Official Website 15 Official Website of European Commission

International Trade Scenario of the CARIFORUM Countries

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