UK Trade Policy Minister George Hollingbery recently signed the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with representatives from Barbados, Belize, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It will allow unhindered trade with the Caribbean nations post BREXIT.
Established in 1992, the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) is a subgroup of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and serves as a base for economic dialogue with the European Union (EU). The news has been welcomed by businesses and business groups across the Caribbean territory, according to a UK Government.
It eliminates all tariffs on all goods imported from the signing CARIFORUM States into the United Kingdom, while the former will continue gradually to cut import tariffs on most of the region’s imports from the latter. These preferential terms are part of the UK Government’s commitment to supporting developing countries to reduce poverty through trade, the statement added.