Christian Aid is urging Caribbean heads of government to refuse to sign a new trade deal it says the European Union is attempting to force on the region.
Caribbean leaders meeting in Barbados on Wednesday should insist that the deal, an economic partnership agreement (EPA), is renegotiated to safeguard their countries interests, says the international development agency. It believes that measures to help developing countries prosper must be at the core of any serious trade agreement.
The EU has maintains that the EPA is development focused, and will support economic growth. Christian Aid and its partners on the ground, however, say that in its present form, the EPA would have a potentially devastating effect on the region's more vulnerable economies.
"What is most worrying is that the supposed focus on development seems to have been complete lost in the negotiation process," says Judith Turbyne, head of Christian Aid's Caribbean office.
"Far from being a key concern it actually appears to have been, at the very least, a marginal issue for negotiators on both sides. What is this going to mean for farmers? What is this going to mean for women and children? What is this going to mean for the poorest sectors in Caribbean society?
The fact that there are no clear development benchmarks integrated into the agreements seems to indicate that the powerful partner in this relationship is much less concerned with development than with furthering its own interests.
"It is the relationship of the bully to the bullied -not that of equal partners in a responsible and fruitful relationship."
Opposition to the EPA has grown steadily since it was initialled by the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) last December following EU threats that refusal to co-operate would lead to cuts in aid, and stiff tariffs for countries wanting to access European markets.
There have been demonstrations in several countries and full signing of the agreement, which the EU is now seeking, is opposed by Guyana and a number of smaller islands, as well as civil society organisations, trade unions and church groups throughout the Caribbean.
Ostensibly designed to open up trade between Caribbean and European countries, there are fears that European producers and service providers will flood the region and force local competitors out of business.
Christian Aid is concerned that Caribbean governments will be restricted from defending national and regional producers against unfair competition from bigger and more aggressive European firms as the EPA contains no provision for the elimination of EU export subsidies or the reduction of other forms of EU agricultural subsidy.
