The Tribune

By Gladstone Thurston

THE Bahamas’ efforts towards World Trade Organisation membership won commendations from the United States Embassy during a four-day WTO technical training programme which began Tuesday at the British Colonial Hilton.

“This nation has made considerable progress since it began laying the ground work for WTO accession more than 10 years ago,” said Embassy Charge d’Affaires, John Dinkelman.

At the second meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of the Bahamas, in Geneva in June, the Bahamas’ trade regime and trade-related reforms were assessed and its conformity with WTO rules examined.

“WTO members praised the Bahamas for the considerable progress it has made in undertaking reforms to bring it in line with WTO agreements,” said Mr Dinkelman, who addressed Tuesday’s opening session.

However, the group noted the need for the establishment of necessary enforcement infrastructure, he added.

The participation in the technical training sessions, he said, demonstrates the government’s “strong commitment to putting that necessary regulatory infrastructure in place to become a member of this global body.”

The Bahamas is the only country in the Western Hemisphere without WTO membership.

Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government, V Alfred Gray accepted that WTO agreements can raise the standards of local and imported goods.

It will also provide a platform for increased opportunities to export Bahamian agricultural, fisheries and forestry products, he said.

“We are participating at whatever level we are asked to do so in ensuring that we get ready for . . . the entrance to WTO when the time comes,” said Mr Gray.

“We are committed to those high standards which will be required. We will spare no efforts to ensure that all of the standards which are required to be met are timely met by our ministries to ensure that whatever come in and goes out of the Bahamas are of the highest quality.”

The WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Enquiry Point and National Notification Authority Training Conference is sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture.

It is designed to expose Bahamian decision-makers to issues associated with WTO accession.

Delegates include representatives from the Ministry of Financial Services whose portfolio include international trade, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environmental Health Services, and the USDA.

The workshop is the first of multiple technical training and dialogue sessions with Bahamian officials on the development and implementation of food safety and animal health regulatory systems required for WTO accession, stated the US Embassy.