CARICOM is about to commence negotiation of the CARICOM/Canada Trade and Development Agreement, and as a key member of the regional grouping, Trinidad and Tobago is an integral part of the negotiation process. In fact, in early June, this country hosted the first Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting to discuss the upcoming negotiations. The session saw technical officers with expertise in negotiations join their counterparts in Trinidad and Tobago to conduct an in-depth analysis of the Draft Negotiating Brief for Canada. Technocrats came from five CARICOM Member States, regional organizations such as the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) and the CARICOM Secretariat. In negotiating this agreement, Trinidad and Tobago’s main objective is to create a secure and predictable trade environment that favours domestic exports of goods and services from Trinidad and Tobago into Canada. Currently, trade between CARICOM countries and Canada is governed by the CARIBCAN Agreement. CARIBCAN allows goods from CARICOM countries to be exported into Canada on a non reciprocal basis and that agreement has recently been extended at the World Trade Organization (WTO) until 2011. The Agreement is expected to cover a range of areas such as Market Access for Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Goods, Investment, Services, E-Commerce, Trade Facilitation, etc. One of CARICOM’s main areas of focus will be asymmetrical obligations in favour of its Member States and development cooperation, which will include technical and financial assistance to assist adjustment to liberalization. The Ministry of Trade and Industry will be consulting various groups from business, the State sector, NGOs and civil society for their input on the proposed agreement and is also inviting comments, queries and suggestions from members of the public at large. | 
