12158: Haiti joins CARICOM (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

PORT-AU-PRINCE, May 20 (IPS) - The Haitian parliament's final assent to
full membership in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has raised fears in
the country's political and financial sectors.
   Mirlande Manigat, an international relations expert who is an important
political figure here, said Haiti's participation in CARICOM is
problematic.
   "The two entities have differences even beyond the issue of language,
history, and socio-economic levels," she said. "The CARICOM countries have
a literacy rate of 90 percent and a per capita income of nearly $2,500. On
the other hand, approximately 60 percent of Haitians are illiterate and the
per capita income here is $300."
   The regional economic community will have difficulties absorbing Haiti,
whose population equals that of all other CARICOM countries combined,
Manigat added.
   An absolute majority of deputies and 15 of 16 senators voted May 13 to
ratify the Chaguaramas treaty and join CARICOM. Haiti has been an observer
at the body for two decades.
   The legislators took their cue from a parliamentary committee that
emphasized the country's need to avoid isolation and participate in the
various integration processes now under way.
   "The country expected this vote. Ratification was smart, even when you
consider the country's problems and the position of the Caribbean Community
on the Haitian crisis," said Evaliere Beauplean, president of the
committee.
   "The countries of the Caribbean have proved their solidarity with Haiti.
They've affirmed their determination to help us out of our difficulties,"
he added.
   But some deputies maintained that because of its structural problems and
weak productivity, Haiti had nothing to gain from joining the economic
bloc.
   CARICOM exports $8 million worth of products per year to Haiti, which
returns goods worth only $200,000. This pales in comparison with the $300
million in exports that Haiti sends to the United States, mainly in
textiles and agricultural products.
   Business people, economists, and pressure groups have been critical of
the government's failure to include them in the negotiations or even to
discuss integration with them.
   Since former President Rene Preval signed the Chaguaramas treaty in
1997, Haitian officials have adopted a top-secret attitude regarding the
status of the talks.
   The treaty, which was established by CARICOM in 1973, defines an action
plan that revolves around three main axes: strengthening the coordination
and regulation of economic relations between members to promote equitable
development; increasing economic integration among countries; and
establishing common cooperation mechanisms for non-member countries.
   Raymond Lafontant, a Haitian economist who specializes in sector
policies, regional integration and the business climate, said the CARICOM
negotiations were conducted with little or no participation by civil
society or the formal or informal business sectors.
   He said he wonders what Haiti's position will be in trade negotiations
scheduled for September between the European Union and the
Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries.
   "The Cotonou Accord gives the least developed countries (LDCs) certain
privileges. Haiti is the only LDC in the region. Can we trust CARICOM to
decide for us, or do we need another protocol, an agreement which will
allow the country to negotiate these privileges for ourselves?" asked
Lafontant.
   The same questions can be posed about the Free Trade Area of the
Americas (FTAA), which is supposed to be concluded in 2005, he added.
   Debate among business leaders on admission into CARICOM has been muted.
Integration would mean that businesses would face greater competition and
be required to improve the quality of their products. Both of these seem
like huge challenges in an environment that lacks infrastructure, qualified
personnel, and the legal and structural framework to monitor quality.
   But Yvon Feuille, chairperson of the Senate foreign affairs committee,
said he believes that Haitian tourism and handicrafts, which are highly
esteemed throughout the region, could be profit- makers in an integrated
economy.
   Haiti's entry into CARICOM also raises the possibility of a bilateral,
commercial agreement long advocated by Haitian businesses to attempt to
stem the flow of goods from the Dominican Republic, which shares the island
of Hispaniola and a 360-kilometer border with Haiti.
   But Haiti would also be expected to observe a free trade agreement
between its neighbor and CARICOM. It would have to enforce the same
taxation rules and observe the same principles, exemptions, and
restrictions for Dominican goods.
   Haitian authorities have kept strictly mum on the status of
negotiations. The opposition parties, concerned solely with the
post-electoral crisis and lacking clearly defined economic programs, have
also been silent on these issues.
   Camille Chalmers, an economist who directs the anti-globalization and
anti-neoliberal Haitian Platform for Alternative Development, said
integration is necessary.
   "The country can no longer remain outside of the various integration
movements. Given the impossibility of beating them from without, we need to
try to influence them from within," said Chalmers.