Bharrat Jagdeo, president of Guyana, got Europe to agree to a review of the new trade pact every five years. - File

Days ahead of the formalities, Guyana has moderated its tone on the controversial Cariforum-EC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), signalling that it would likely sign the pact alongside 14 other countries in Barbados today.

President Bharrat Jagdeo, who had earlier laid down two pre-conditions for signing, said he had so far managed to get Europe to agree to a provision for there to be a mandatory review of the trade accord every five years.

Socio-economic impact

With the inclusion of the review clause, Jagdeo argued that the 16 members of Cariforum, which includes the 15-member Caricom bloc and The Dominican Republic, were now in a better position to assess the socio-economic impact of the EPA on their countries.

"Now, I don't know what will happen in the future, whether Europe will honour it, but at least we'll have the provision, this binding provision on Europe, and that will satisfy a principal concern that I had - that there was no review clause in the agreement," Jagdeo said during an interview on state media.

The Guyanese leader has also been demanding that the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas - the instrument that guides Caricom - must take precedence over the EPA, in cases where conflict arises. But this position has not found favour with the Europeans.

"They have watered this down to say that in the implementation of the agreement, they will take account of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, but that is slightly different than a commitment to the Treaty of Chaguaramas being supreme, that is, the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas prevailing in cases of conflict," said Jagdeo.

However, the Guyanese president also said he felt vindicated and that all his efforts to fight for a better EPA for the region had not been futile, and that he was leaving the door open to his country's participation in the October 15 signing.

Commitments to the region

Nevertheless, he cautioned the Caribbean of the need to remain steadfast and to ensure that Europe honoured its commitments to the region.

Meanwhile, on the subject of the region's negotiating body, the Guyanese leader said he was in favour of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery being submerged into the Caricom Secretariat, but did not spell out the details.

- CMC