Chapter Four : Policies for Sectoral Development

Where in this Chapter Member States or competent Organs are required to adopt measures for the achievement of the Community Industrial Policy, the special needs and circumstances of the Less Developed Countries shall be taken into account.

COTED shall promote the modernisation of government bureaucracies by, inter alia:

(a)        encouraging the development of closer contacts between public sector administrations, industry and other stakeholders to ensure that challenges  presented by the global environment are understood and co-operative solutions developed;

(b) removing  impediments  and  improving  the  regulatory  framework  for economic enterprises at national and regional levels;

(c)        encouraging cost-effectiveness in the delivery of services to the public; and
(d) proposing adequate arrangements to address the changes in the business environment and future challenges to industry.

1.         In establishing its industrial policy, the Community shall promote appropriate measures for the establishment of adequate social infrastructure, the alleviation of poverty, and securing social stability in the Member States.

2.         Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Community shall promote in the Member States:

(a) the establishment and improvement of health, education, sports and social security institutions and facilities;

(b) conclusion of reciprocal social security agreements among Member States in order to facilitate the movement of skills; and

(c) training and retraining of workers, mobility of instructors and trainees, co- operation among educational and training institutions, and the development of distance education.

3.         The Member States shall engender an understanding and appreciation of the Community through effective public relations, educational, cultural and youth exchange programmes.

1.         The Legal Affairs Committee shall co-operate with competent Organs of the Community to advise the Member States on the legal infrastructure required to promote investments in the Member States, including cross-border investments, bearing in mind the provisions of Article 68.

2.         The Member States shall harmonise their laws and administrative practices in respect of, inter alia:

(a)        companies or other legal entities;

(b)        intellectual property rights;

(c)        standards and technical regulations;

(d)        labelling of food and drugs;

(e)        sanitary and phytosanitary measures;

(f)         competition policy;

(g)        dumping;

(h)        subsidies and countervailing measures; and

(i)         commercial arbitration.

COHSOD shall, in  consultation with COTED, formulate proposals and adopt appropriate measures for the promotion of harmonious, stable and enlightened industrial relations in the Community. In formulating such measures and proposals, COHSOD shall, inter alia, promote:

(a) the objectives of full employment, improved living and working conditions; adequate social security policies and programmes; tripartite consultations among governments, workers’ and employers’ organisations; and cross- border mobility of labour;

(b)        recognition  of  the  principle  of  non-discriminatory  treatment  among Community workers in the pursuit of employment within the Community;

(c) the  establishment and  maintenance of  effective  mechanisms for  the enhancement of industrial relations, particularly that of collective bargaining; and

(d) awareness among Community workers and employers that international competitiveness is essential for social and economic development of Member States and requires collaboration of employers and workers for increased production and productivity in Community enterprises.

1.         The Member States shall conclude among themselves an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation in order to facilitate the free movement of capital in the Community.

2.         The Member States shall conclude their double taxation agreements with third States on the basis of mutually agreed principles which shall be determined by COFAP.

COFAP shall adopt proposals for the establishment of financial infrastructure supportive of investments in the Community. In particular, COFAP shall assist the Member States in establishing capital markets, financial institutions and appropriate financial instruments to facilitate capital investment on a sustainable basis.

1.         COFAP shall formulate proposals and adopt appropriate measures to promote a sound macro-economic environment in the Member States, consistent with their obligations under this Treaty and applicable international agreements.

2.         COFAP shall, in collaboration with other competent Organs, promote economic development in the Member States through the development and application of convergent macro- economic policies to ensure fiscal discipline, favourable balance-of-payments, stable currencies and moderate prices without prejudice to securing high levels of employment.

3. COFAP shall collaborate with COFCOR and COTED in co-ordinating: (a) the economic policies of the Member States; and

(b) the positions and presentations of the Member States in all international economic, financial and trade meetings at which they are represented.

4.         In support of the development of macro-economic policies, the Community shall provide for harmonisation of the output of the statistical services of the Member States.

1.         The Member States shall harmonise national incentives to investments in the industrial, agricultural and services sectors.

2.         COFAP  shall,  consistently  with  relevant  international  agreements,  formulate proposals for the establishment of regimes for the granting of incentives to enterprises in the sectors mentioned in paragraph 1. In particular, such proposals shall accord support for industries considered to be of strategic interest to the Community.

3.         In formulating the proposals mentioned in paragraph 2, COFAP shall give due consideration to the peculiarities of the industries concerned and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may provide for the following:

(a) national incentives to investment designed to promote sustainable, export- led industrial and service-oriented development;

(b)        investment facilitation through the removal of bureaucratic impediments; and

(c)        non-discrimination in the granting of incentives among Community nationals.

COTED in collaboration with COFAP and COHSOD shall establish a Community Investment Policy which shall include sound national macro-economic policies, a harmonised system of investment incentives, stable industrial relations, appropriate financial institutions and arrangements, supportive legal and social infrastructure and modernisation of the role of public authorities.

1.         COTED shall, in collaboration with competent agencies, develop a standardisation programme in furtherance of the objectives of this Chapter and consistent with the international obligations of the Member States.

2.         In implementing the programme, the Member States shall not use standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures as barriers to trade.

3. The programme shall have the following objectives:
   (a) trade facilitation;

(b)  enhanced efficiency in the production and delivery of goods and services;

(c) improved quality of goods and services traded within the Community and with third States; and

(d)  consumer and environmental protection.

4.      The programme shall include the following elements:

(a) harmonisation of standards and technical regulations, and transparency in the development and promulgation of standards and technical regulations;

(b) recognition   of   conformity   assessment   procedures   through   mutual recognition agreements or other means;

(c) facilitation of standards infrastructure development at the national and regional levels;

(d)  facilitation of metrology infrastructure development; and

(e) arrangements for the exchange of information with respect to development and implementation of standards and technical regulations among the parties to this Treaty.

5.         The Community shall promote the establishment of a regional standards body which shall, inter alia:

(a)        facilitate implementation of the standardisation programme;

(b) assist the Member States in understanding and fulfilling their obligations under this Treaty and other international agreements;

(c)   promote the development of national standards bodies in the Member States; and

(d)  facilitate access to technical assistance available in the Member States and in third States.

6.         For the purposes of this Article, the following definitions apply:

(a) “technical  regulations”  means  regulations  which  lay  down  product characteristics or their related processes and production methods, including the applicable administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory. The term may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements as they apply to a product, process or production method.

(b) “standard” means a guideline approved by a recognised body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, with which compliance is not mandatory. The term may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements as they apply to a product, process or production method.

(c) “conformity assessment procedures” includes any procedure used, directly or indirectly, to determine that relevant requirements in technical regulations or standards are fulfilled.

COTED shall promote the protection of intellectual property rights within the Community by, inter alia:

(a) the strengthening of regimes for the protection of intellectual property rights and the simplification of registration procedures in the Member States;

(b) the establishment of a regional administration for intellectual property rights except copyright;

(c) the identification and establishment, by the Member States of mechanisms to ensure:

(i)        the use of protected works for the enhanced benefit of the Member States;

(ii)       the preservation of indigenous Caribbean culture; and

(iii)        the legal protection of the expressions of folklore, other traditional knowledge  and  national  heritage,  particularly  of  indigenous populations in the Community;

(d) increased dissemination and use of patent documentation as a source of technological information;

(e)        public education;

(f) measures to prevent the abuse of intellectual property rights by rights- holders or the resort to practices which unreasonably restrain trade or adversely affect the international transfer of technology; and

(g) participation by the Member States in international regimes for the protection of intellectual property rights.

1.         The policies of the Community shall be implemented in a manner that ensures the prudent and rational management of the resources of the Member States.   In particular, the Community shall promote measures to ensure:

(a) the  preservation,  protection  and  improvement  of  the  quality  of  the environment;

(b)        the protection of the life and health of humans, animals and plants; and

(c) the adoption of initiatives at the Community level to address regional environmental problems.

2.         In formulating measures in relation to the environment, the Community shall take account of:

(a)        available and accessible scientific and technical data; (b)        environmental conditions in the Member States;

(c)        the potential costs and benefits of action or inaction;

(d) the economic and social development of the Community as a whole and the balanced development of the Member States;

(e) the precautionary principle and those principles relating to preventive action, rectification of environmental damage at source and the principle that the polluter pays; and

(f) the need to protect the Region from the harmful effects of hazardous materials transported, generated, disposed of or shipped through or within the Community.

3.         In performing its functions under this Treaty, COTED shall ensure a balance between the requirements of industrial development and the protection and preservation of the environment.

4.         In giving effect to this Article, the Community and the Member States shall, within their respective spheres of competence, co-operate with third States and competent environmental organisations.

1.        COTED shall promote market-led research, technological development and adaptation of technology in the Community in order to support the production, on a sustainable basis, of goods and services in the Member States with a view to diversifying such production and enhancing its international competitiveness.

2.         In the discharge of its mandate set out in paragraph 1 of this Article, COTED shall adopt measures to encourage, inter alia, inventions and innovation, and acquisition, transfer, assimilation, adaptation and diffusion of technologies in the Community.  Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, COTED shall:

(a) encourage public and private sector agencies, research establishments and tertiary institutions in their research and technological development activities and assist in identifying sources of funding for such activities;

(b) promote co-operation in research and technological development among the Member States and with third States and competent international organisations;

(c) facilitate co-operation:

(i) in training;

(ii) in the exchange of scientific and technical information among competent institutions;

(iii)  in the free movement of researchers in the Community;

(iv) among private sector enterprises to integrate the results of research and development in the production process;

(d) develop and implement technological policies and strategies, having due regard for the importance of technology management and protection of intellectual property rights;

(e) facilitate access by Community nationals to technological and research facilities of Member States; and

(f)         promote the development of technology extension services.

3.         In particular, COTED shall promote and encourage research and development, and the adaptation, diffusion and transfer of appropriate technologies in order to achieve increased agricultural production and productivity, bearing in mind the need to protect the independence and human rights of the farming community.

4.         COTED shall, in collaboration with competent public and private sector research and development institutions, encourage and assist Member States:

(a) to facilitate access to and use of new and appropriate technologies in the agricultural sector;

(b)        to develop:

(i) efficient systems for the generation and transfer of ppropriate technologies; and

(ii) technological and institutional capabilities in the public and private sectors, compatible with competitive and sustainable agricultural production.

5.         In the pursuit of its functions under this Article, COTED shall encourage the private sector to play a vital role in:

(a) the development, adaptation and transfer of appropriate technologies in the agricultural sector; and

(b) the development of producer associations as a basis for autonomous action and intra-regional transfer of technologies and research findings.

6.         COTED shall co-operate with the Member States and competent organisations to devise means of protecting, developing and commercialising local knowledge about the value and use of the Region’s biodiversity for the benefit of their populations, especially their indigenous peoples.

1.         Without prejudice to any other provision of this Treaty relating to human resources development, the COTED shall, in collaboration with the COHSOD, adopt measures to develop the Community’s human resources which shall, inter alia, support its  thrust toward international competitiveness in the development, production and delivery of goods and services.

2.         The measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be designed to address the economic, social and cultural aspects of human resources development, and shall include the following:

(a) development  of  programmes  that  will  assist  Community  nationals  in engendering the attitudes and acquiring the competence to function effectively;

(b) development of the skills and attitudes required to foster a culture of entrepreneurship;

(c) establishing and strengthening educational and training institutions for formal and informal modes of delivery and alternative modes for distance education;

(d) development  of  industry-oriented  curricula  designed  to  improve  the competitiveness of regional industries; and

(e) promotion of multi-lingual skills at all levels for general education, with particular emphasis on the needs of the services sector.

3.         The Community shall, in particular and on a continuing basis, adopt effective measures for the development of human resources to satisfy the requirements for cadres of skilled agricultural personnel at all levels in the Member States.

4.         For the purposes of paragraph 3, provision shall be made to:

(a) monitor  and  evaluate,  on  an  on-going  basis,  the  demand  for,  and appropriateness of agricultural education and training;

(b)        establish training programmes in the agricultural sector;

(c) develop effective delivery of in-field training for farmers, foresters and fishers; and

(d) improve the facilities and strengthen the capabilities of regional training institutions and national administrations in support of agricultural development.

5.         In performing the functions referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, the Community shall collaborate with education and training institutions and relevant regional and international organisations in developing harmonised agricultural syllabuses, training materials and case studies in key areas of farming, fisheries and forestry utilising distance education technology where appropriate.