Published 22 March 2019
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Momentous occasion
While The United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union (EU) in a very short time from now, the technical work for the rollover of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) and the United Kingdom post-Brexit has now materialised into a new CARIFORUM -UK Agreement . Today St.Kitts and Nevis is pleased to be a part of this very symbolic occasion in signing the New Trading Agreement ( CARIFORUM – UK ) . The Agreement was signed by the Honorable Lindsay Grant – Minister of International Trade, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
One cannot downplay the critically important , historical relationship that St.Kitts and Nevis like all other CARIFORUM Member States have shared with our UK partners. By signing on this new Agreement not only reaffirms and solidifies our cordial relations but avoids disruption in the preferential trading relationship with the UK following its exit from the EU.
It must be underscored that the European Union remains an important trade partner for St.Kitts and Nevis and our CARIFORUM Colleagues. The Economic Partnership Agreement will continue to be the framework under which we trade with the EU, so we at the Ministry of International Trade continue to work with entrepreneurs and other players in the private sector to explore opportunities within this framework, even as we seek to improve implementation.
The EPA is the trade and development partnership signed in 2008 by the 15 states of CARIFORUM and the EU’s 28 countries. The goals are to make it easier for people and businesses from the two regions to invest in and trade with each other, and to spur development across the Caribbean region.
