Dr Henry Jeffrey?Minister of Foreign Trade,Cheap Jerseys, Dr Henry Jeffrey, in his presentation to the 17th meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on Education, said that the need for the recently signed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was largely based on the fact that it was found that all the preferences in the previous convention did not help trade between the parties.He noted that trade (EU imports) between the parties dropped from eight percent in 1974 to about three percent at present.“Of course there are other reasons — World Trade Organisation, the need for reciprocity in devising trade agreements, and so on. Therefore, when the Cotonou Agreement was negotiated, the idea was that we should have a reciprocal agreement …Cotonou said that the EPA is intended to lead to the sustainable development of the countries; it is intended to reduce poverty, and that no country should be worse off as a result of getting into this agreement.”The Cotonou Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP countries).It is aimed at the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty, while contributing to sustainable development and to the gradual integration of ACP countries into the world economy.It is quite clear that the EPA has goals, Dr Jeffrey told the gathering, noting that once there are goals, there must be mechanisms in place to distinguish if any country will be worse off as a result of the agreement.He noted that an important element of the EPA that many do not often speak about is the chapter that highlights the setting up of numerous institutions to monitor countries and their progress or downfall with the implementation of the EPA.This chapter, he said, speaks of the setting up of a Ministerial Council,Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic, a Technical Officers Council,Wholesale Jerseys China, a Parliamentary Council, a Stakeholders’ Council, to examine the EPA and its conditions on a yearly basis to determine whether it is hurting countries or not.The quarrel between Guyana and the EU has added something to that chapter in terms of the five-year review, he added.“In Guyana’s case,Cheap China Jerseys, 12 percent of our imports come from the EU, and already 37 percent are duty free and about 50 percent are either duty free or have duty below five percent. Forty-seven percent of the revenue that we get from the imports of the EU will not be touched because they are on goods that are excluded from liberalization, and the eleven percent or so will be liberalized over a period of about 15 years.”Dr Jeffrey noted that,Cheap Jerseys From China, from one point of view,Cheap Jerseys For Sale, the complexity of the agreement is enhanced when one is dealing with issues such as intellectual property rights, investment and government procurement.“There is a body of views that say ‘we have completed an EPA on all of these matters’ and a whole host of issues are now being released by intellectuals, communities…and therefore we need to stand back here. We need take time and stand back here and consider all these other things.”He noted that this point of view did not prevail.“In a sense, because of all of President Jagdeo’s discourse, it resulted in a review instrument that is a bit broader and more focused.”Dr Jeffrey was part of a panel that discussed the benefits of the EPA in the education sector within the region.