By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The government was yesterday urged to eliminate the “anxiety” caused by over-reliance on policy regardless of whether The Bahamas joins the WTO or not.
Darron Pickstock, who heads the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce’s trade and investment division, told Tribune Business that one of the major topics during last week’s fourth Working Party meeting on this nation’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession bid was other countries’ desire that existing policy be “codified” into statute law.
He argued this should be done “whether WTO or not” since it would better enable The Bahamas to attract “the best foreign direct investment”, as all rules and regulations governing such activity would no longer subject to sudden change and political whim.
Mr Pickstock, advocating that a statute law-based investment regime would give potential investors greater certainty and confidence, said: “Whether WTO or not, these are things that should be done.
“We have to get to a point in our country where we stop relying on or developing policy, and put those policies into law and codify them. That, as an attorney, causes a lot of anxiety for us as sometimes we don’t know when the policy changes and can’t advise clients properly.
“As a practicing attorney it’s important that the Government takes seriously that we stop the practice of issuing policies and rules, and start codifying those policies into law as a general practice,” he continued.
“As a Bahamian, forget the WTO. As a Bahamian, I want more predictability and I want more certainty as it relates to many things, particularly policy that the Government introduces which, as you rightfully say, can be changed on a whim.
“That’s what happens. We as attorneys find policies no longer in effect; here’s the new one. That has to change.” Among those policies which the Government has previously acknowledged must be codified in law is the National Investment Policy, which sets out which industries are currently reserved for Bahamian ownership only, and the rules governing foreign direct investment.
Mr Pickstock said greater clarity was especially important if The Bahamas wants to attract high-quality investors, with its reliance on foreign direct investment (FDI) to drive economic growth and job creation creating further impetus for reform and change.
“We invite a lot of foreign direct investment into our country,” he told Tribune Business, “and where they come from they’re used to a lot more certainty in their regime. If we’re trying to attract the best foreign direct investment we need to ensure the system is predictable, know the timeframes and know the rules will not change overnight.”
Greater investment predictability and certainty has been cited as one of the major benefits for The Bahamas from full WTO membership, with the rules-based trading regime arbiter helping to modernise key elements of this nation’s economy.
Mr Pickstock and the Chamber, who attended last week’s fourth Working Party meeting as observers, said the central theme involved the Bahamian delegation - headed by Brent Symonette, minister of financial services, trade and industry and Immigration, and Zhivargo Laing, the chief WTO negotiator - fielding questions from other countries on this nation’s trade and economic regime.
“Countries were pressing us on our system and ways we do business,” he told this newspaper. “They were looking at our investment regime and laws, and posing questions as it relates to these structures in our country and how they function.
“Because The Bahamas is looking to join the WTO, countries want to know if they and their private sector were doing business in The Bahamas what they can expect from our laws, our systems, and looking to codify policies into laws, looking into our investment regime.
“Those were the particular items countries were still seeking to clarify and get answers as it relates to those issues. That was the main thrust of the fourth Working Party meeting.”
The Working Party leads the negotiations to determine The Bahamas’ WTO accession terms. It consists of member states who have an interest in trading with The Bahamas. These include the likes of the US, Canada, the European Union (EU), China, the UK, members of CARICOM and, possibly, Latin American nations such as Brazil.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID