Headlines:
| Barbados PM say no renegotiation for EPA |
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| Wednesday, 03 September 2008 | |
 Barbados'
Prime Minister David Thompson says CARICOM leaders will not renegotiate the
Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Europe at their special meeting in Bridgetown next week.Mr. Thompson says it's already too late to consider reworking the trade deal and the focus of the September 10 talks, will be on reaching a common position on the agreement. Guyana has been the most vocal government against the EPA, with President Bharrat Jagdeo insisting that the region will be left with a bad deal if countries sign on. Grenada and St. Lucia have also expressed reservations, while the leaders of Barbados, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have made it clear they were ready and willing to sign the EPA on Tuesday as originally scheduled. Prime Minister Thompson says he is optimistic that despite the current inconsistencies, the leaders will eventually find a united position. The EPA signing ceremony was postponed by the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery, CRNM, which negotiated the deal on behalf of CARICOM, after it was uncertain how many regional governments would sign. CRNM officials said a tentative date has been chosen, but have so far declined to reveal it. |