The EU is a very big market, comprising 28 countries and over 500 million consumers. Jamaican exporters hoping to penetrate the EU market must meet the EU requirements  that protect human and animal health, the environment, and consumers’ rights. The BSJ EPA Portal provides clients and partners with valuable information related to the CARIFORUM-EC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), including information on the requirements necessary to export to the EU market successfully and access to tools and resources that will assist in this endeavour.

What is the CARIFORUM-EU EPA

The CARIFORUM-EC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is a trade and development agreement. The EPA was signed in 2008 by the 15 CARIFORUM members and the 27 EU countries and replaced the trade provisions of the Cotonou Agreement, signed in 2000. While the Caribbean and the EU have shared a long history of trading arrangements, this agreement was different.

For starters, this was the first time the trading arrangement between the two regions was reciprocal –- meaning that both regions had opened their markets to each other. This reciprocal agreement was necessary to ensure compatibility with the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, of which the CARIFORUM and EU countries are all members. However, this was not the sole reason for negotiating the new agreement.

Despite having benefited from preferential access to the EU market for over 35 years, the Caribbean had made little progress in taking advantage of export opportunities beyond the export of traditional commodities (e.g. sugar, bananas, rum). It was  recognized that CARIFORUM needed to change its approach to the EU market. The EPA includes a strong development dimension and supports improving the region’s capacity to trade competitively.

The EPA covers goods and, for the first time, services; investment; trade issues; sustainable development; regional integration and development cooperation.

EPA Component

The EPA is divided into six parts and contains annexes and protocols. The main sections are as follows:

• Part I: Trade Partnership for Sustainable Development

• Part II: Trade and Trade-related Matters

• Title I. Trade in Goods

• Title II. Investment, Trade in Services and E-commerce

• Title III. Current Payments and Capital Movements

• Title IV. Trade-related Issues

• Part IV: General Exceptions

• Part V: Institutional Provisions

• Part VI: General and Final Provisions

• Seven Annexes

• Three Protocols

• Final Act

CARIFORUM Countrie

Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago.

EU Countries

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdo