Georgetown – The National Assembly has passed the Customs Duty (Amendment) Order 2011 which makes way for Guyana’s entry into the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and confirms Guyana as the first country in CARICOM to take the necessary legislative steps to implement the EPA. Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh moved for the confirmation of the Order that was tabled in late January after its signing on January 14 prior to the publishing of the official Gazette Order No. 1 of 2011, which amends the Customs Act to include the EPA Schedule of tariff rates.
The European Union and CARIFORUM emerged from negotiations on December 16, 2007 but the agreement was not formally signed by the participating states until October 2008.
“Under the terms of that economic partnership agreement, CARIFORUM negotiated a moratorium from the January 1, 2008 to January 31, 2010, before effecting entry into force of the tariff and liberalization commitment under the EPA. As a result of which CARIFORUM countries are scheduled to commence the liberalization under the scheduled agreed from January 2011,” the Finance Minister said.
Dr. Singh added that in the current Order there is reference to the phasing of the tariff adjustments and the different category of goods and the years they will come into force,
When the European Commission first proposed the agreement, all countries except Guyana and Haiti, agreed to sign on which left the two countries standing alone in their decision not to sign, with Guyana opting for a ‘goods only’ deal.
This decision by President Bharrat Jagdeo sparked much criticism from other CARICOM leaders but the President was adamant in his stance that the deal will do more harm than good to the region.
