Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo says he is willing to join forces with Cariforum partners to battle the EU in court over its unilateral cancellation of the decades-old Sugar Protocol. - File
The European Union's decision to scrap its 32-year-old sugar pact with African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states could wind up in court, with Guyana advising that it was prepared to join with Cariforum countries in a legal face-off with the 27-member bloc.
Guyana is the top producer and exporter of regional sugar, and has the most to lose with the cancellation of the pact.
Of the 593,000 tonnes of cane milled in the 2006/07 crop, the South American country produced 270,000 tonnes of cane and exported 240,500 tonnes of sugar.
The sector is also a big earner for Guyana, contributing 17-18 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing more than 30,000 people. Jamaica, whose sector is said to account for about 38,000 mostly low skill jobs, is number two producer, reaping 163,700 tonnes of cane, and exporting 153,000 tonnes of sugar over the season.
Consultations
"It was not a decision, but many heads have expressed the view that this matter should go to the court," said Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo. "We will continue to hold consultations and if we all agree on it most likely this matter will end up in court."
Cariforum, in the two-day meeting in Montego Bay a week ago, put a counter-proposal to the EU on sugar to be included in the Economic Partnership Agreement now under negotiation, but there has been no word yet on whether Europe has accepted or rejected the terms.
The communique issued at the end of the talks said Cariforum "tabled proposals on securing increased and assured market access at remunerative prices aimed at securing the industry's long-term viability.
Jagdeo said his administration would support any decision by the 16-member Cariforum - Caricom countries plus Domini-can Republic - to contest the EU's disposal of the existing sugar protocol, which would see regional countries losing the preferential arrangement that guaranteed duty-free access to the EU market for raw cane sugar.
He said that following talks with EU trade officials in MoBay, Cariforum heads of government agreed to hold further consultations on whether they would be taking the EU to court.
"If ACP countries are going that route we will definitely give support. I am prepared to go to the court to test the protocol as a long-term legal agreement that was concluded between Europe and the ACP, and we will keep struggling to ensure that Europe is reminded of their commitment," said the Guyanese president.
"I cannot promise that we will win the fight because, as I explained in the past, Europe does not play by the rules of the game. They have acted on several occasions in a unilateral fashion and there is nothing today that tells me that they will operate differently."
Under the ACP-EU Sugar Protocol - which has been in existence since the first ACP-EEC Lome Convention was signed on February 28, 1975 - the European Community undertook to import at guaranteed prices, specific quantities of cane sugar which originate in ACP countries for an indefinite period.
The issue of market access remains in contention in the negotiations.
Trade negotiators continued to hammer out the framework for a deal in Barbados Wednesday, with both sides having left MoBay with instructions to conclude their work "in a manner that would allow" for a replacement pact to be ready for implementation when the Cotonou waiver expires December 31.
Sugar producers were also meeting Thursday with EU representatives in Kingston, the Financial Gleaner learned.
The framework agreement is expected to be sufficiently advanced for initialling by October 15, but the Financial Gleaner was unable to reach top negotiator Ambassador Richard Bernal and could not immediately ascertain whether that remained the working timetable.
- CMC and Gleaner reports
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