Dr. David Lewis, Chief of Party, Caribbean Policy Project, Antigua

"Private Sector for Negotiations - A Caribbean Perspective."

Comments

Dr. Gonzales asked whether the idea of the private sector not being sufficiently consulted was in fact a clear picture of what was happening and wondered how the private sector was influencing the negotiating process. He said that the problem lay in the private sector's inability to come together of its own accord and its leaving that task to the government. In fact, he stated, some more powerful elements dictated to the government what it should do. He added that there were many people who would benefit from the FTAs who were not incorporated into the negotiating process.

Dr. Lewis responded that there were many people who participated in FTAs but the focus was on the private sector. The private sector did have a certain degree of influence, but it was also necessary to consider the complexity of private sector negotiation and include views of others who were not being represented . Each government must decide who could help them and tap the wide range of human resources available within the region . No country had researched the impact of CARICOM liberalisation and related issues but there must be some mechanism for obtaining ideas.

Ambassador Bernal asked Dr. Lewis to outline the necessary elements of a remedial programme to unite the public and private sectors and what would be the starting point of such a programme. Ambassador Bernal also wished to know how issues such as involvement, government reticence and barriers, banana trade and lack of tradition would be addressed.

Dr. Lewis: One concern was about what business people were willing to do in terms of committing resources. They needed to start with technical assistance in different areas and then move up from there. The private sector didn't know what they must do to increase export. Mechanisms should be in place to inform them. Governments should not just take the private sector's claims regarding the suitability of markets for granted. They needed to commit resources to the study of the viability of these claims. Regarding institutional barriers, collaboration before one got to the negotiating stage was needed. Overcoming government reticence was merely a matter of being persistent.

Mrs Dorset commented that there should be a flow of information from senior public servants to the private sector which could influence their outlook She was convinced that it was the responsibility of the public servants to educate the private sector and ensure that there was no monopoly of information.

Ambassador Bernal wondered why some elements of the private sector were involved in policy-making while others weren't.

Dr. Lewis responded that the same degree of bureaucracy existed within the private as within the public sector. It might be easier to develop a common position through a private-public caucus, though to do so would not be as simple within a diversified economy.

One had to consider the costs and benefits of any action. Once sector-specific personnel were convinced of the value of such a process they would be more willing to get involved. Many businessmen who had actually heard about changes in the international environment remained sceptical about its impact on them. However, if either the public or private sector hoped to survive in such an environment they needed to be aware of and participate in negotiations at a global level. Regional governments needed to involve business people in negotiations so that the business sector would be educated even if this started at a "sector-specific" level.

Dr. Yankey believed that there was no public sector monopoly of information as certain members of the private sector were well versed about FTAA. He claimed that only certain parts of the private sector did not have access to needed information. This was the real problem, he argued, and it existed because certain elements of the private sector related with the government while others didn't.

Dr. Lewis agreed with Mr. Yankey's point regarding the monopoly of information. Participation had to be government-led since government officials had the greatest access to information. Some initiative was therefore needed whereby the official government sector would facilitate the complete involvement of the private sector in the process. If the government put the necessary mechanisms in place, the onus would then be on those in the private sector to seize the opportunity and find the required resources to get involved in the process. He pointed to the example of Central and South America where members of the private sector sought public office not because it was directly lucrative but because they saw this move as necessary to the implementation of desirable policies.

Ambassador Bernal proposed that the Institute of International Relations study the trade policy formulation process in the Caribbean with relation to the public and private sectors.

Mr. De Souza then asked what sort of mechanism could be used to facilitate greater communication between the public and private sectors.

Dr. Lewis answered that Barbados had held a series of consultations, which seemed to be all-inclusive, with labour movements, the private sector, and other groups participating, about whether NAFTA was an appropriate trade vehicle and could be beneficial. That could probably be one way of going about it. He would not commit himself one way or the other. His main concern was about the time left within which to study this issue; it was necessary to take a definite decision since this would force the region to take a stand and work towards it.