Now the Trinis a tun whe Jamaicans!

[Me]

Hope for him sake them think him indian.

[Islandman]

I can't speak for Mafood specifically but we all know TT manufacturers have an unfair advantage with subsidised energy costs.

[Don1]

Hope for him sake them think him indian.

woooiiieee

[Assasin]

not only that, they do a lot of repackaging. Mafood is doing fine only that most Jamaicans are not.

This is not about Mafood but more about our government policies and that includes both JLP and PNP( for those who want to read it one way).

[Peter R]

I have no argument with that. The High Commissioner denied the report that JA had issued a travel advisory against T&T BTW. She said it was the newspaper sensationalizing the statement by the JA government.

[Peter R]

Agreed. The ruling that just came down for Ms. Myrie establishes the point.

[World Fan]

Ting yah juss a hotup

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2...us/focus3.html


Jamaica and the Caribbean Community

Published: Sunday | November 24, 2013 0 Comments


CARICOM headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana. -FILE




Byron Blake, GUEST COLUMNIST

[COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Jamaica[/COLOR][/COLOR] is one of the four founding member states of the [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Caribbean[/COLOR][/COLOR] Community (CARICOM). It was a full and active participant in the drafting of the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
That treaty was signed on July 4, 1973, the birthday of Jamaica's national hero, Norman Washington Manley, to honour his commitment to Caribbean unity, independence and integration. On that date Jamaica affixed its signature to both the treaty establishing the Caribbean Community and to the Caribbean Common Market Annex which established the Common Market, including the Common External Tariff (CET).
The Treaty of Chaguaramas was revised through a process initiated in 1989 - in the Declaration of Grand Anse - driven significantly by Jamaica. Among the objectives of the revision was to tighten the administration of the [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]trade[/COLOR][/COLOR] regime, broaden the scope to include areas such as services, and grant access to national resources to nationals of other member states who now have the right to establish businesses where they choose.
Also very important was the clear recognition that to compete, negotiate and be recognised in an increasingly global world driven by size and strength, Jamaica, and indeed the Caribbean, needed a larger and more certain home base. This was a deliberate strategy to facilitate development.
The revision process, completed in 2001, produced the 'Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas Establishing the Caribbean Community Including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy'.
The revised treaty was signed by heads of government of CARICOM on July 5, 2001, with Jamaica as one of the signatories. The revised treaty differed from the original treaty in at least one particular respect. The original treaty was a 'judicial hybrid'. It was, in fact, two treaties with discrete legal personalities, two sets of objectives and two provisions for signature and withdrawal.
This created the possibility for a new state being able to sign and commit to one and not to the other. Interestingly, this possibility was not available to the original members of the Common Market. They had to sign and commit to both treaties.
The rationale was, in part, to ensure that member states such as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, with their superior industrial [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]infrastructure[/COLOR][/COLOR], did not simply commit to [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]economic[/COLOR][/COLOR] integration.
The revised treaty, on the other hand, is an integral treaty. There is only one provision for signature. Any provision to which a member could not commit, or establish an arrangement to reach the stage to commit, had to be negotiated and agreed at the time of signature.
PACT WITH BAHAMAS
The Bahamas, as a member of the community under the original Treaty of Chaguaramas, faced with the possibility of being excluded under the revised treaty as the country was not prepared to join the CSME. Since the objective was neither to coerce The Bahamas into the CSME nor to deprive it of the status it previously enjoyed, a special pact - 'Agreement between the Caribbean Community and the Government of The Bahamas' - had to be negotiated and signed before The Bahamas could sign the revised treaty.
The underlying rationale for requiring clear commitment was:
1. To curtail the capacity of member states to cherry-pick, or to opt in and out, at their discretion, thereby creating uncertainty about the legitimate expectations and rights of the other member states; and
2. In relation to the economic component, ensure that the CARICOM Treaty satisfied the relevant provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947 for derogation from the obligations of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) requirements. The MFN provision in the GATT Agreement requires that member states treat all other member states equally. This is a foundation principle embodied in Article 1 of the GATT (1947) Agreement. It was carried forward in the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement which established the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The MFN principle was extended to the new pact, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), as Article 2.
Derogation from the MFN provision is only available to groups of countries which are in or have 'A Plan and Schedule' to become a 'Customs Union' and to individual countries in highly restricted situations.
In a customs union, (a) the trade among the membership is free from any tariff or quantitative (quota) restrictions and (b) the conditions for trade with third countries are the same. This latter situation is secured in part by the application of a Common Tariff (Common External Tariff, or CET) regime.
In order to ensure consistency of its internal regime, the original Treaty of Chaguaramas, in Article 8 of the Common Market Annex, provided for MFN treatment. The provision was carried forward in the revised treaty, again as Article 8 in the same terms, namely 'Subject to the provisions of this treaty, each member state shall, with respect to any rights covered by this treaty, accord to another member state treatment no less favourable than that accorded to:
(a) A third member state; or
(b) third states.
There are provisions through which member states which consider that their right to MFN treatment is being abridged or frustrated can seek remedy.
Incidentally, there is an important omission in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas of 2001. The drafters, possibly because of the approach of putting the treaty together from nine separately negotiated protocols, inadvertently omitted the withdrawal provision which was in Article 27 of the original Treaty of Chaguaramas. Article 27 provided as follows:
"1. A member state may withdraw from the Community by giving notice in writing to the secretariat and the secretariat shall promptly notify the other member states. Such withdrawal shall take place 12 months after the notice is received by the secretariat.
2. A member state so withdrawing undertakes to honour any financial obligations duly assumed during it membership of the Community."
Given the dual nature of the original treaty, there was also Article 69 of the Annex which provided for withdrawal from the Common Market in these terms:
"1. A member state may withdraw from the Common Market by giving notice in writing to the secretariat and the secretariat shall promptly notify the other member states. Such withdrawal shall take place 12 months after the notice is received by the secretariat.
2. A member state so withdrawing undertakes to honour any financial obligations duly assumed during its membership of the Common Market.
3. A member state that withdraws from the treaty in accordance with Article 27 thereof shall, if a member state of the Common Market be deemed to have withdrawn from the Common Market with effect from the expiry of the time limited in the said Article 27."
There was no discussion in the negotiations about modifying the right of a sovereign state to withdraw from an agreement voluntarily entered into so the text of Article 27 should have been transposed to the new treaty. The omission needs to be rectified, but the intent is clear. Given the nature and structure of the Revised Treaty, the provisions of Article 69 of the Annex would be redundant.
Challenges And Disputes
The treaty recognises the possibility of challenges arising over time. The treaty, therefore, incorporates rules to address all foreseeable circumstances. In addition to the general provisions, Chapter Nine of the Revised Treaty is dedicated to 'Dispute Settlement'.
It covers disputes arising from the interpretation and application of the treaty, including:
"(a) allegations that an actual or proposed measure of another member state is, or would be, inconsistent with the objectives of the Community,
(b) allegations of injury, serious prejudice suffered or likely to be suffered, nullification or impairment of benefits expected from the establishment and operation of the CSME;
(c) allegations that an organ or body of the Community has acted ultra vires; or
(d) allegations that the purpose or object of the treaty is being frustrated or prejudiced."
It also provides six modes of addressing disputes, namely, good offices, mediation, consultations, conciliation, arbitration and adjudication. These formal modes are in addition to the less-formal modes through the councils and organs, all of which are empowered to secure harmonious relations to the area of their competence.
At the highest level, adjudication is by the Caribbean Court of Justice, whose rulings are final and enforceable.
There is, therefore, limited room for unilateral action, and where this exists, there are requirements for reporting to the secretariat and relevant councils in stipulated time frames and with appropriate justification.
It is important to note that an inappropriate unilateral action by an 'aggrieved' party can become a source for dispute action by the alleged original 'offending' party.
Next: Calls for Jamaica to unilaterally restrict imports or withdraw from CARICOM.
Byron Blake is a former assistant secretary general of the CARICOM Secretariat. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.

[Gamma]

so ... win win ... nutten wrang wid dat ... there is a point to be made there.