CARICOM and Canada have now settled on late summer to kick off the first round of negotiations on a new trade deal to replace CaribCan, with the Caribbean already signalling its plans to push for concessions for low-skilled workers under the pact on services.

In its current form, CaribCan is a non- reciprocal economic and trade development assistance programme that provides duty-free access to the Canadian market for most CARICOM goods exports.

But under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, such non-reciprocal preferential agreements require a waiver, which for CaribCan has been extended to year 2011.

The negotiating teams have had initial contact via videoconference last month to establish the ground rules for the pending talks.

"It was not a negotiation," said Michele Lowe, senior coordinator of Hemispheric and bilateral negotiations at the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM). "It was an explanatory discussion to get further information from Canada on the scope that it would see an agreement taking."

The CRNM expects the talks to last about a year before a deal is reached.

Lowe said the CRNM had got instruction from CARICOM's Council for Trade and Economic Development to start the first round of negotiations before the summer break at the end of July.

But this was not possible as the Organisation of Eastern Carib-bean States (OECS) was undertaking a study, which will guide their negotiating position.

"The OECS Secretariat study would not be ready before that summer break and in any case, the Canadian negotiating schedule would not allow right now for negotiating round during July because they have negotiations with Korea and Panama," said Lowe.

Round one for Canada

"Therefore, the agreement was that we would work towards the second week in September."

The first round is to take place in Ottawa, Canada. Lowe said the scope of the agreement would essentially be around trade in goods, services and investments. Some issues to be covered in the round, said Lowe, include competition policy, government procurement, and innovation and competitiveness, as well as side agreements on labour and the environment.

Lowe, however, disclosed that under this new trade pact, the region would be looking to include non-traditional skills categories in the services agreement, meant to safeguard arrangements like the Overseas Employment Programme.

No timetable

"We have indicated an interest in addressing some of these non-traditional skills categories in our agreement and we will see to what extent the Canadians are open to that," she said.

The parties have not decided on a timetable for completing the talks, but Lowe says they are unlikely to be finalised this year.

"We have not yet had an agreement what the pace of negotiations would be," she said. "But to us, we are more looking at eight to 12 months, minimum. We certainly couldn't do it in a four-month period."

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com