Part One : Industrial Policy

Article 55: Sustainable Tourism Development

 

  1.         The Community shall, in collaboration with competent international organisations, formulate proposals for sustainable tourism development.  These proposals shall recognise the importance of the tourism sub-sector to the economic development of the Region, and the need to conserve its cultural and natural resources and to maintain a balance between a healthy ecology and economic development.
  2. The programme for sustainable tourism development shall have the following objectives:
    (a) an enhanced image for the Region as a tourist destination;
    (b) a diversified tourism product of a consistently high quality
    (c) an expanded market-base;
    (d)  education programmes designed to ensure that appropriate practices are pursued by service-providers; 
    (e) linkages with other sectors in the economy;
    (f)  conservation of the natural and cultural resources of the Region through proper management; and
    (g) appropriate  infrastructure  and  other  services  in  support  of  tourism, considering the natural and social carrying-capacity of the Member States

Article 54: Development of the Services Sector

  1.        COTED shall, in collaboration with the appropriate Councils, promote the development of the services sector in the Community in order to stimulate economic complementarities among,   and accelerate economic development in, the Member States. In particular, COTED shall promote measures to achieve:

(a)        increased investment in services;

(b)        increased  volume,  value  and  range  of  trade  in  services  within  the Community and with third States;

(c)        competitiveness in the modes of delivering services; and

(d) enhanced enterprise and infrastructural development, including that of micro and small service enterprises.

 

  1.         In order to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 1, the Member States shall, through the appropriate Councils, collaborate in:

(a) designing programmes for the development of human resources to achieve competitiveness in the provision of services;

(b) establishing a regime of incentives for the development of and trade in services; and

(c) adopting  measures  to  promote  the  establishment  of  an  appropriate institutional and administrative framework and, in collaboration with the Legal Affairs Committee, promote the establishment of the appropriate legal framework to support the services sector in the Community.

 

  1.         In  the  establishment of  programmes and  policies of  the  Community for  the development of the services sector, the relevant Councils shall give priority to:

(a)    the efficient provision of infrastructural services including telecommunications, road, air, maritime and riverain transportation, statistical data generation and financial services;

(b) the  development  of  capacity-enhancing  services  including  education services, research and development services;

(c)        the development of services which enhance cross-sector competitiveness; (d)        the facilitation of cross-border provision of services which enhance the

competitiveness of the services sector; and

(e)        the development of informatics and other knowledge-based services.

Article 53: Micro and Small Economic Enterprise Development

 

  1.        The Community shall adopt appropriate policy measures to encourage the development of competitive micro and small economic enterprises in the Member States.
  1.         Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the competent Organ shall encourage policy initiatives and the establishment of effective programmes to foster a facilitative legal, economic, and administrative framework in the Member States to enhance micro and small economic enterprise development, and shall promote:

(a) the development of the capacities of national and regional support agencies for micro and small economic enterprises, including the creation of entrepreneurial centres, by organising technical assistance inclusive of planning, delivery and evaluation of support services to the sector;

(b) access to, improvement in the quality of, and opportunities for training and education in areas such as technical skills, entrepreneurial competence and business management for micro and small entrepreneurs;

(c) access by micro and small economic enterprises to the technical assistance provided by the support agencies;

(d)        the establishment, development or modernising, as the case may require, of financial institutions to provide, to micro and small economic enterprises, services by way of appropriate and innovative instruments;

(e)        innovation within the micro and small enterprise sector; and

(f)         the creation of, and access to, trade and technology information networks.

 

  1.         For the purposes of this Article, micro and small economic enterprises shall be economic enterprises within the meaning of Article 32 that satisfy such other criteria as may be determined by the competent authorities.

 

Article 52: Implementation of Community Industrial Policy

  1.         In order to achieve the objectives of its industrial policy, the Community shall promote, inter alia:

(a)        the co-ordination of national industrial policies of the Member States;

(b) the establishment and maintenance of an investment-friendly environment, including a facilitative administrative process;

(c) the diversification of the products and markets for goods and services with a view to increasing the range and value of exports;

(d)        the organisation and development of product and factor markets;

(e) the  development  of  required  institutional,  legal,  technical,  financial, administrative and other support for the establishment or development of micro and small economic enterprises throughout the Community; and

(f) in collaboration with the social partners, the advancement of production integration.

  1.         The Community shall establish a special regime for disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors.
  1.         COTED shall, in collaboration with competent organs and bodies of the Community and the private sector, establish criteria for according special consideration to particular industries and sectors.  Such criteria shall include, in particular, arrangements relating to the prospects of the industry for successful production integration.
  1.         COTED shall collaborate with competent agencies to assist the Member States in designing appropriate policy instruments to support  industries, which may include effective export promotion policies, financing policies, incentives and technology policies.
  1.         In implementing the Community Industrial Policy, COTED shall have regard to the provisions of this Treaty relating to environmental protection.
  1.         The Member States undertake to establish and maintain appropriate macro-economic policies supportive of efficient production in the Community. In addition, they shall undertake to put in place arrangements for, inter alia:

(a)        effective payment mechanisms;

(b)        the avoidance of double taxation;

(c)        harmonised legislation in relevant areas;

(d) the elimination of bureaucratic impediments to deployment of investments in industrial enterprises;

(e) the improvement of infrastructure and co-operation in the areas of air and maritime transport;

(f)         communications systems.

  1.         In order to facilitate the implementation of the Community Industrial Policy, COTED shall, in collaboration with competent organs and agencies:

(a)        develop  strategies for  the  development and  dissemination of  market information and appropriate mechanisms to facilitate acquisition, storage and retrieval of such information;

(b)        promote the establishment and development of capital markets in the Member States; and

(c) encourage the Member States to establish and develop export markets, especially in non-traditional sectors, through the development of sector- specific incentives and appropriate policy instruments.

  1.         For the purpose of this Article, “production integration” includes:

(a) the direct organisation of production in more than one Member State by a single economic enterprise;

(b) complementary production involving collaboration among several economic enterprises operating in one or more Member States to produce and use required inputs in the production chain; and

(c) co-operation among economic enterprises in areas such as purchasing, marketing, and research and development.

Article 51: Objectives of the Community Industrial Policy

  1.         The goal of the Community Industrial Policy shall be market-led, internationally competitive and sustainable production of goods and services for the promotion of the Region’s economic and social development.
  1.         In fulfilment of the goal set out in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Community shall pursue the following objectives:

(a)     cross-border employment of natural resources, human resources, capital, technology and management capabilities for the production of goods and services on a sustainable basis;

(b)        linkages among economic sectors and enterprises within and among the Member States of the CSME;

(c)    promotion of regional economic enterprises capable of achieving scales of production to facilitate successful competition in domestic and extra-regional markets;

(d)    establishment of a viable micro and small economic enterprise sector;

(e)   enhanced and diversified production of goods and services for both export and domestic markets;

(f)    sustained public and private sector collaboration in order to secure market- led production of goods and services;

(g)  enhanced industrial production on an environmentally sustainable basis;

(h) balanced economic and social development in the CSME bearing in mind the special needs of disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors within the meaning of Article I; and

(i)      stable industrial relations.