The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Editor

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Prime Minister says Bahamian businesses are failing to properly exploit trade agreements that would give them preferential export access and potentially lower the cost of imports.

Philip Davis KC told the Bahamas Business Outlook conference that said this nation has entered into several international trade agreements but they are being "under-utilised".

He said: “The Bahamas has signed on to a number of international trade agreements that have been under-utilised. We must identify the opportunities for us to export our local products, and also identify the areas where we can source high-quality, more affordable goods that are consumed locally.”

Mr Davis did not identify the agreements he was referring to. However, The Bahamas is a signatory to the two Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between Caribbean nations and the European Union (EU) and the UK, respectively, as well as a beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) with the US and the CaribCan agreement with Canada.

All four agreements are designed to remove barriers to market access for Bahamian goods and services exporters, providing benefits such as tariff-free and quota-free access to large economies for their products.

Philip Galanis, the Bahamas Trade Commission's chairman, said it is working closely with international partners to improve trade and assist Bahamian companies with exporting their products on an international scale.

He added: “What we have seen is there's been a lot of activity on trade. As the chairman of the Trade Commission, I've been working very, very closely with a number of our partners internationally - the Caribbean, the UK, China, the US, Brazil.”

“Much is being done to lay the groundwork to improve trade, with a view to helping Bahamians to export products; export their products to foreign markets to expose them to what is available in the international arena.”

Mr Galanis added: “In addition to which, the Trade Commission is also very interested in ensuring that we do everything we can to reduce the price of goods coming into our country. We import inflation because we don't produce anything here. Whatever we purchase, we bring the inflation that comes with it.

“And so if we can find ways and means by which to reduce the first costs and the landed costs, then we will be able to see a reduction in the rate of innovation. I'm hopeful that is going to be done.”

Last October, the UK conducted its first official trade mission to The Bahamas in 20 years. Mr Galanis said the Trade Commission is working to introduce Bahamian products into that market and import goods from the UK at a lower rate.

He said: “We are working with the UK, trying to get Bahamian products into the UK market - into the British market - that are not currently available. And so we're going to continue to do that.

“We see a two-way benefit. One, the export of trade and exposing Bahamian products, goods and services and, principally, goods. And, secondly, the increased emphasis on bringing things into the country at much lower rates.”

Mr Galanis said some Bahamian manufacturing companies and artisans have taken advantage of these trade arrangements to-date. He added: “Some of the companies that we’ve seen are the manufacturing companies. We see a lot of persons in the tourism sector - handbags, Haus of Assembly and other similar products, Harl Taylor and others who have benefited from this.

“We believe that these cottage industries, the nascent industries that are just getting off the ground, once they are able to satisfy themselves or satisfy the general market that they are market ready and that they can be sold internationally, I think we're going to see a tremendous improvement in this area.”