By Liz Rahaman
Local manufacturers are ready and rearing to explore available markets with counterparts in Brazil.
However, their efforts are being stymied by top-level agricultural negotiations at the CARICOM, World Trade and European Union levels, said Theresa Nisbett, permanent secretary in the Ministry of International Trade.
“When you do something between yourself it should go a little beyond that so everybody would be looking to see what is settled in the WTO before they come into a closer type of agreement,” Nisbett said, with reference to trade between St. Kitts and by extension CARICOM and Brazil.
Brazil has been awaiting the outcome of the negotiations with the WTO on sugar and other agricultural subsidies granted to European and American farmers before putting more emphasis on the CARICOM/MERCOSUR (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Urugay) bilateral agreement, she said.
Nisbette said that while talks are still up for completion, works on the agreement have been moving slowly due to engaging matters that are taking up the attention and resources of CARICOM and Brazil.
“CARICOM is engaged with the EPA negotiation with the European Union and the matter of subsidies in agriculture is still taking the attention of the larger developed countries like Brazil in the WTO round of talks and that itself is not going satisfactorily,” Nisbett said.
Recently, Franklin Brand, president of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, said that the Chamber has initiated talks with the Ministry of International Trade for a bilateral agreement between St. Kitts -Nevis and the South American country.
Under the Agreement, the Federation is looking to access Brazil’s market to sell among other products, its cable television trappings and accessories while importing leather goods, cut flowers, canned foods and furniture.
“The Chamber intends to keep this dialogue open with Government with a view to seeing a bilateral trade arrangement that results in our consumers’ access to cheaper, high quality products and our manufacturers’ access to a larger market other than our traditional ones in North America and Europe,” Brand said.
While she did not specify any details, Nisbett said there are local manufacturers who have indicated their interests to penetrate the Brazilian market.
Some of these companies already have their share on the North American market, but want to widen their market and increase their production because they have the capacity to produce more and sell more, but they want another market to go into and they see Brazil as a good area, she added.
“So whenever those negotiations continue, we would be representing their interests. We want to sell some of our products made here in Brazil,” she said
