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The Greater Caribbean This Week

Parliamentarians and trade regulations

by Luis Noriega

Regulations stemming from trade agreement negotiations are varied and complex. Governments work toward establishing regulations that are negotiated by topic or discipline. That's where countries negotiate issues such as market access, government procurement, intellectual property and other disciplines requiring profound knowledge. This is carried out by experts or specialists who study each of those disciplines in depth.

In addition, it is common for consultations to be held in countries with the production sectors and the civil society, who in turn create teams of specialists that provide governments with their opinions, which are taken into account when agreements are being negotiated.

Examples of this are the negotiations conducted in the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), negotiations like those of CAFTA and those held by the Andean Community at the plurilateral level.

These negotiations generally enjoy very broad coverage through the media and in some way the population learns about their governments' actions with respect to international trade agreements, but the information is not comprehensive enough.

There is little public knowledge regarding the crucial role played by legislative bodies in countries and the importance of legislators understanding the scope of trade agreements and the benefit of their prompt ratification, since, as it is known, this requirement must be fulfilled by the States that have signed the agreements in order for them to become national legislation first of all, and for those international legal instruments to enter into full force.

It is gratifying to know that over time, legislators are becoming more knowledgeable and have shown greater interest in such legislation, which bears considerable importance on the legislative agenda, given that in recent years there has been a whirlpool of trade negotiations and there are countries that have signed numerous agreements with countries and regions around the world. Each country or region has obviously decided on their own trade agenda and the dynamics they impose on the negotiations.

As a result, parliamentarians must play a unique and vital role in the world trade system. As representatives responsible to the citizens who have elected them, they must analyze and ratify various international agreements and particularly those in the field of trade. They should ensure their implementation through their legislative duty and by supporting initiatives so that the respective headings could be included in the national budget.

Moreover, their role can be expanded to include promoting dissemination and meetings between citizens and international organizations, for example, in the task of explaining the labor benefits of the trade system. Legislators can help citizens better understand the complexities of globalization and foster not only understanding but also debate, armed with the knowledge of the issues and impact of international trade at the individual level. It is a crucial complementary role to that which must be played by the governments of the signatory countries of these agreements.

It would appear as though there is still a long way to go with respect to the efforts that should be undertaken by parliamentarians in their countries, where globalization and external economic relations are concerned. There are still legislators who are unable to discuss with sufficient knowledge, topics such as the Doha Development Agenda and the negotiations being carried out within the World Trade Organization in preparation for the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting, as well as the problems related to agricultural negotiations for subsidies and internal assistance. It would also be imperative for the man in the street to have adequate knowledge of such issues so as to understand that that is what's going on in the international arena and how trade negotiations affect not only the society as a whole, but also the individual.

Luis Noriega is the Director of Trade of the Association of Caribbean States. The views expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Feedback can be sent to mail@acs-aec.org