Rules of origins, they are a complicated but important set of objectives and guidelines that will govern trade in the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). And with the CSME's implementation now being just a matter of time, our Ministry of Foreign Trade is this week hosting a two-day workshop on the topic. New Minister of Foreign Trade Godfrey Smith opened day one this morning stating that these rules will be an important tool in ensuring that free trade will be fair trade.
Godfrey Smith, Minister of Foreign Trade
"With our advancing CARICOM integration, your immediate market is no longer Corozal to Toledo with a mere 280,000 plus market but really Belize to Barbados and beyond with more like 14 million members of the market consumers, we must therefore seize the inherent opportunities existing in that. With the other increasing number of trade liberalization initiatives, the marketplace will therefore continuously expand, but not without challenges and we must be prepared to adjust to deal with those challenges. Our collective responsibility is to ensure the best possible balance for Belizean entrepreneurs as well as consumers."
"There is growing empirical evidence that unmitigated free trade can create severe poverty with a mirage of glooming export numbers. I must hasten to add however that I am not advocating abandonment of the liberalization process. This is not an option. To the contrary, we must insert our views at every available opportunity as early as possible in tandem with our regional partners to make sure that our views are in fact taken onboard. We can't just sit and say that the process is bigger than we are and we can't influence it all, which is why the regional integration process is important; it allows us to punch above our weight if you will."
The workshop continues tomorrow with discussions on the pending partial scope agreement between Belize and Guatemala. The sessions are being held at the Central Bank lecture hall.
