Office of Trade Negotiations

for
TRADE Matters…
OTN Barbados Office
1st floor, “Speedbird House”
Independence Square
Bridgetown BB1121
BARBADOS

barbados.office@crnm.org
(246) 430 1670 (T)
(246) 228 9528 (F)

OTN Jamaica Office

2nd floor, PCJ Building
36 Trafalgar Road
Kingston 10
JAMAICA

jamaica.office@crnm.org
(876) 908 4242/3922 (T)
(876) 754 2998 (F)
 Trade and Everyday Life
Simply put, international trade happens when goods and services are sold
across international borders.

At the basic level, trade is necessary because it allows people within

countries to access resources, goods and services that are not produced
locally. Trade also helps people to acquire resources, goods and services
that are produced more cheaply by foreign producers than by local
producers

Beyond this, because international trade improves the circulation of global

resources, it also facilitates the generation of employment and business
opportunities, and helps reduce poverty and propel development.

International Trade matters. It affects our daily lives. The prices of the
goods and services we buy, the quality and quantity of employment
opportunities for present and future generations, the prospects for
attracting investment to our Region and the capacity of Caribbean countries
to improve wealth creation are all dependent on our trading relationships
with the rest of the world.

However, international trade is complex and can be affected by

international politics and the balance of world power among the trading
parties. It is therefore important to ensure that smaller, less developed and
more vulnerable countries derive practical and concrete benefit from their
trading relationship.

Individuals across the Region need to be aware of the importance of trade in

achieving improved standards of living, new opportunities for business and
employment and an overall improved quality of life.

The Caribbean Community

The CARICOM Secretariat

The CARICOM Secretariat is the principal

(CARICOM) administrative organ of the Community and

is headed by a Secretary General who is the
Chief Executive Officer of the Community.

The Community
coordinating economic policies and Mission Statement:
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), is development planning; devising and
an organization of 15 Caribbean nations and instituting special projects for the less- To provide dynamic leadership and service
dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are developed countries within its jurisdiction; in partnership with Community Institutions
to promote economic integration and operating as a regional single market for and groups, toward the attainment of a
cooperation among its members, to ensure many of its members (Caricom Single viable, internationally competitive and
that the benefits of integration are Market); and handling regional trade sustainable Community, with improved
equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign disputes. The secretariat headquarters is quality of life for all.
policy. Its major activities involve based in Georgetown, Guyana.
The New Trade Environment
Rapid advancements in technology and communications
have helped the global community to become more
interconnected culturally, economically and politically. Trade liberalization and
The benefit has been that the world, more than ever
before, has the capacity to quickly exchange information, trade preference erosion
goods and services, innovation, labour resources and
capital across international borders. This process of
have resulted in increased
exchange has also created a growing independence of competition to Caribbean
nation states.
exports in the
In spite of this interdependence, the outcome of
participating in the international economic system has International market.
varied significantly for nations because of differences in
power, wealth, and capacity to use resources to realize
and sustain development. Relatively small population and

market size, limited financial resources and susceptibility
to natural disasters challenge the Caribbean’s ability to
sustain economic development within the global economic
system.
There are current trends in international trade that
present challenges to development for developing
countries, such as those of the Caribbean. International
trade is currently characterized by acceleration of the
removal of barriers to trade (trade liberalization), such as
taxes on imports upon entry into a country (tariffs), and
limits on the quantity of goods that can be imported (quota
restrictions). Another characteristic associated with
international trade is the erosion of privileges in the form
of non-reciprocal trade preferences that facilitate duty
free or reduced duty access of some products from
developing countries, such as the Caribbean, to developed
country markets such as the United States and Europe.
Trade liberalization and trade preferences erosion have
resulted in increased competition to Caribbean exports on
the international market. This has been the case, for
example, in the banana and sugar sectors. Caribbean
producers are therefore compelled to adjust, so that they
can continue to compete at global standards of efficiency,
productivity and quality.
Cultivating external trading relationships is essential for
the Caribbean to adjust to the challenges presented by
the external trade environment and to take advantages of
the opportunities. Through the development of external
trade relationships, the Region will be best able to
negotiate the pace and intensity of trade liberalization.
Furthermore, the Caribbean may better secure the
flexibility needed to attract and use technological
innovation, labour resources, and investment, to
transform the capacity, efficiency, productivity and
competitiveness of productive sectors.
External trade negotiations are therefore an indispensible
part of the Regional Strategy to reposition their
economies in the global economic system.
The Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) is charged with
the responsibility of helping the Caribbean to
competitively position itself in the global market place, in
order to maximize trade and development opportunities
for the long term benefit of the Caribbean people.
What is the OTN?
In the mid 1980s it became clear to the leaders of Caribbean governments
that external trade negotiations were going to be extremely important in
helping the Region adjust to the challenges of the changing international
environment. It was also apparent that these negotiations were essential to
enabling the Caribbean to advantage of development opportunities in areas
where the Caribbean may have potential competitive edge.
Given the Region’s limited human and financial resources, external negotiations had to be
approached in a coordinated, managed and systematic way to avoid use of these resources in an
inefficient an ineffective manner. It was considered necessary to create an organization whose
dedicated task would be to manage the negotiation process under direction of the Regional
Governments.

In recognition of these challenges, the Conference of the Heads of Government of the

Caribbean Community (CARICOM), formally established the Caribbean Regional Negotiating
Machinery (CRNM) in April 1997 to develop, coordinate and execute an overall negotiating
strategy for various external negotiations in which the Region was involved. At the behest of
the CARICOM Member States, who principally constituted CRNM’s membership, the CRNM also
represented the trade interests of the Dominican Republic and Cuba in specific negotiating
arenas.

The CRNM underwent restructuring in order to streamline the logistics of its core function with
Director-General of the OTN,
operational and administrative systems of other related Community Organs, instruments and H. E. Ambassador Gail S. Mathurin, CD
organizations.

Following a decision taken in March 12-13 2009 in Belize during the Twentieth Inter- Sessional
Meeting of the Conference of the Heads, the CRNM was incorporated into the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) Secretariat as a Specialized Department. Subsequently, another decision
was taken by the Heads of Government during the 30th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of
Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held 2-4 July 2009 in Guyana, to rename
the CRNM as the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN).

The CRNM, as the Office of Trade Negotiations of the CARICOM Secretariat, now has extended
responsibility for the coordination, development, and execution of negotiating strategies for all
Community external trade negotiations. The OTN is led by the Director General, Ambassador
Gail Mathurin, whose appointment was confirmed in July 2009.
The Mandate
The OTN is responsible for developing and maintaining a • Facilitating the generation of national positions
cohesive and effective framework for the coordination and • Coordinating the formulation of a cohesive
negotiating strategy
management of CARICOM’s external trade negotiation
• Leading negotiations where appropriate
resources and expertise. Our mission is to help Member
• Providing sound advice when required
States maximize the benefits of participating in global
trade negotiations by:

The Negotiations in Focus

The OTN engages in negotiations on four general levels: negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the
Americas. (FTAA). NB. These negotiations have

• Multilateral Level – This includes negotiations been dormant since 2003;

within the World Trade Organization (WTO); • Bilateral Level – This includes the negotiation of

• Inter-regional Level – This included the agreements between CARICOM and other

negotiations of the Economic Partnership countries such as: Canada, Costa Rica, and the

Agreement (EPA) with the European Union; Dominican Republic.

• The Hemispheric Level – This includes the

Structure and Functioning of the OTN

At all levels of negotiations, Trade and Foreign Ministers, their professional staff in Member State capitals, and their Representatives in
centres such as Brussels and Geneva, have played, and continue to play essential roles in the negotiating process. The OTN is involved
intimately in integrating these efforts in order to arrive at common regional negotiating positions.

The OTN management team is currently comprised of the Director-General, a Deputy Senior Director with overarching responsibility for
technical work of the organization, a Director of Technical Cooperation, Partnerships and Information responsible for relations with the
donor community and overall management of grant agreements; and a Director of Finance and Administration responsible for budget,
finance and administration matters.

The technical team consists of CARICOM nationals who are experts in various issues which are the subject of the negotiations. During a
negotiation, the mechanism designed to ensure coherence across the negotiating positions in several negotiating disciplines is a College of
Negotiators. A College comprises Lead and Alternate Lead Negotiators for each of the negotiating arenas who actually undertake the
negotiations under the overall coordination of the Dean of the College. Colleges meet periodically, and independently of a negotiation, to
review developments in the respective negotiating arenas, and to discuss future strategies. Some of the OTN’s technical staff members serve
alongside regional experts either as Lead Negotiators, or as Alternate Lead Negotiators within a College.

The governance structure established by the Heads of Government requires the OTN, as a Department of the CARICOM Secretariat, to report
to the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) which gives the OTN guidance, and defines its negotiating mandate.
The Director-General is also directly responsible to the Secretary-General of the CARICOM Secretariat.
Heads of Government have approved the use of a broad consultation process in development and design of regional negotiating positions.
This process includes the following:

Challenges
Representing the region’s external trade negotiating interests is important but challenging work.
The OTN’s responsibility is confronted by institutional and negotiating challenges. These include:

• Responding in a timely manner to the technical requirements of negotiations, as this tends to require highly
specialized knowledge.

• Absence of relevant technical and statistical data in many countries

• Deploying limited regional human and financial resources to execute the mandate

• Ensuring that the particular problems which face the small regional economies are accommodated in new
trading arrangements.

The OTN is assisted in endeavours to overcome these challenges through the contributions of regional member states,
and through partnerships with a number of regional and international agents from several countries including Canada,
Europe and the United States.

Achievements
Notwithstanding these challenges there have been a number of achievements accomplished over the years. The OTN
has

• Helped forge trans-regional alliances with Latin American and African countries in external trade negotiating
arenas.

• Attained considerable success in advancing bilateral negotiations within its mandate

• Become more user-friendly, consultative and responsive to a variety of stakeholders in order to better
facilitate member countries in the process of strategic global repositioning.
Mattering more to the Community
OTN is proud of the progress made since inception. Through OTN’s Communications Outreach Program stakeholders
across the region have not only been sensitized to the regional challenges of development but have also been educated
about the opportunities and potential for regional development in the international trading environment. In particular,
the Private Sector Outreach programme has been instrumental in helping to improve the knowledge of the private
sector about trade negotiation issues. The program has helped to build the private sector’s confidence to participate
more actively in the shaping of external trade policy.

Additionally, the OTN through training internships has contributed to the development of a cadre of professionals over
the years. Through improving human capital, the OTN is continuing to assist the region in overcoming its limitations to
secure the future of regional development.

Member States
The OTN represents the following member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Republic of Cuba.

Antigua and Barbuda The Barbados Barbados

Belize Commonwealth of Dominica Grenada
Cooperative Republic of Guyana Republic of Haiti Jamaica
Fed. Of St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Republic of Suriname Republic of Trinidad and Tobago