be a political level meeting between
the Ministers of CARIFORUM and
political representatives from the
French, British and Dutch Overseas
Territories in the region to continue
to dialogue as to how we can
achieve the closer cooperation that
we all want for the region.”
The region remains dissatisfied
about not getting the level of
success in trade and services it
seeks, with Marie admitting that
“we’re concerned that we’ve not
been able to convert the market
access that we’ve negotiated into
marketplaces.”
As an example, he said entertainers
from the region who wish to enter
the European market to provide
entertainment services are faced
with some European Union
regulations that practically constrain
the delivery of such services to that
market. Ministers expressed their
concerns and hoped that such
regimes are made less onerous.
The EU is CARIFORUM’s second-
largest trading partner, after the
United States, and trade between
the Caribbean and the EU amounts
to billions of dollars annually.
Main exports from the Caribbean
to the EU are fuel and mining
products, notably petroleum gas
www.slyoumag.com | July-August 2019
and oils, bananas, sugar and rum,
minerals (notably gold, corundum,
aluminum oxide and hydroxide),
iron ore products, and fertilizers.
The main imports into the Caribbean
from the EU are boats, ships, cars,
construction vehicles and engine
parts, phone equipment, milk and
cream, and spirit drinks.
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