CARICOM heads to discuss stalemate in dialogue
The political situation in Guyana will come up for discussion when Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community meet in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic today. The discussion will centre around the stalemate in the political dialogue between the ruling People's Progressive Party/Civic and the People's National Congress. The two parties had been meeting with the CARICOM Facilitator Maurice King, who was appointed under the terms of the St. Lucia Statement signed last July by the two parties and the then CARICOM Chairman, Dr. Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of St. Lucia. At this Sixth Special Meeting, the Heads of Government will also deal with urgent matters of interest such as the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on the European Union's (EU) Banana Regime. The WTO on Tuesday authorized the United States to impose $191.4 million in tariffs on a variety of European goods in retaliation for the loss suffered by the United States as a result of the failure of the EU's restructured Banana Regime to comply with the rules of the WTO. Under the Lome Convention with the European Union, the Caribbean and other members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of countries have a Trade and Aid Agreement which, among other things, allows for preferential access to the European market for their main exports including bananas. The United States backed by four Latin American countries, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, launched a successful challenge to the Banana Regime in the WTO which prompted a change in the regime from the EU. However, there was a further successful challenge to the amended regime which has resulted in the latest ruling from the WTO. The Leaders will discuss a regional response to the latest developments. They will also take the opportunity to look at final preparations for the Second Summit of Heads of States and Government of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), which convenes in Santo Domingo this evening and ends tomorrow. Discussion will also take place with respect to preparation for the EU/Latin American and Caribbean Summit scheduled for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 28 and 29, 1999.
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