Dionne Rose, Business Reporter

Canada and Caricom have now agreed a new timetable for preliminary meetings, starting June, that are meant to establish the negotiating schedule on a new bilateral trade deal to replace CaribCan.

But the parties are expected to remain on their respective home soil for the first day of the talks.

"There is a meeting with Canada on the 9th of June - a video conference," said Ambassador Richard Bernal, director general of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery.

A technical working group of Caricom negotiators will then meet on June 10 and 11 to finalise strategy ahead of the actual negotiations.

The latter timetable is yet to be decided, but the parties will be ironing out a substantially more expansive pact that will extend beyond trade in goods - which the current arrangement was con-structed on - to take in investment and services.

Bernal will lead on Caricom's side of the table, but he is unlikely to be around when the trade deal is actually constructed.

New posting

He departs the CRNM on June 30 to take up a new posting in Washington as resident represen-tative to the Inter-American Development Bank.

As to who will lead the talks with Canada once he goes, Bernal said that decision is pending.

"I imagine those will be decided at the next heads of government meeting in July and at that time somebody will be appointed to take over from me and somebody would be appointed to lead the Canadian negotiations," he said.

Bernal has recommended his deputy, Henry Gill, for the job.

CARICOM largely trades with Canada under the CaribCan pact on goods, which expired in 2006.

The region turned attention to the Canadians after securing a deal with Europe in December 2007.

But the negotiations have been delayed by maneuoverings on both sides, latterly by the Canadians who opted out of preliminary meetings that were last set for May 1-3, citing scheduling conflicts.

Bernal said it was not possible to say at this time how much more trade the Caribbean hopes to secure from the deal.

But, in the arena of investments, Canada, whose top banks already dominate regional markets, has reported multibillion-dollar flows.

In 2006, the stock of Canadian direct investment in, or transshipped through, the CARICOM market registered at C$52.95 billion, according to Canadian trade data.

Comparatively, CARICOM investments in Canada amounted to a mere C$760 million.

Trade surplus

The most recent trade statistics for 2006 available from regional sources, shows Caricom with a trade surplus, albeit diminishing, in its commercial dealings in merchandise trade with Canada.

Trade in goods between the 15-member CARICOM, a market of 15 million, and the North Ameri-can country of 33 million was last valued in 2006 at C$2 billion and a positive trade balance of C$335 million, according to CRNM, which said a breakout was not available.

The CRNM's figures, however, reflect a fall in trade from the turn of the decade when transactions totalled C$2.28 billion, with a trade surplus of C$703 million in the region's favour.

Canada's assessment of trade in 2006 was lower.

Data posted on the foreign affairs and international trade Canada website, valued it at C$1.8 billion.