Lessons from the CARIFORUM EPA

Chapter 9 presents the findings of the EU commissioned ‘Five Year Report’ of the EPA negotiated between the EU and the Caribbean States (CARIFORUM). As the first comprehensive EPA to be concluded and implemented since 2008, the Report offers a rare opportunity for the other EPA regions to analyse the extent to which the benefits of the agreement are being realised by Caribbean businesses. A critical deconstruction of the Report identifies an information deficit, an implementation deficit, a financial deficit, and a development deficit. There appear to be inadequate monitoring mechanisms in place to measure the effect of trade liberalisation on the promotion of sustainable development, suggesting that the commercial aspects of the EPA have been prioritised over the social aspects of the agreement. Overall, the Report tells a cautionary tale for the other EPA groups and one to which they should listen very closely, especially in relation to non-tariff barriers to trade and financial support for the implementation of the agreements. However, in the context of CARIFORUM, it also sends a signal to the EU that the Caribbean states are seeking out other markets and may potentially suggest a shift away from post-colonial dependency on the EU market. Where the CARIFORUM states seek to negotiate new regional arrangements with other countries and regions, the inclusion of the MFN clause in the EPA may become particularly significant for the EU.