By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said work on a national trade policy is almost complete, adding he was hopeful the matter would not get “hijacked” by arguments that there were attempts to push a free movement agenda that has for years clouded World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations.

Mr Halkitis told the Senate yesterday that while the government wanted to diversify the Bahamian economy, trade was much more than the WTO.

He also said the government wanted to ensure consumers were not subject to price gouging at stores due to inflation. Regarding inflation, he said there is little that can be done in the short-term.

 He made the comments during debate of the mid-year budget in the upper chamber.

 “For many years we’ve been working on a national trade policy and that is almost complete,” Mr Halkitis said yesterday. “That is going out for more consultation and what we want to do is every time we talk about trade, unfortunately the argument seems to get hijacked by WTO and free trade and free movement and then for years, I think we are in the 22nd year of trying to join, for one example the WTO.

 “But trade is much more than that. Trade is much more than the WTO.

 “We have our Caribbean partners. We have partners in Latin America, partners in Europe and then you have your Brexit - you have your agreement with the Europeans and then you have to have an agreement in place with the UK.

 “Our view is that trade is important and so we have to have a coordinated approach to it and my view is that our job is to ensure that our local actors, the business people, become aware of opportunities that might exist for them and so it is not seen as an agenda to push some sort of free movement. That’s what becomes the subject of debate.

 “But how do we convince people that to be able to freely trade with partners around the world it’s a good thing with protections in place for a small economy? And so, we think it will allow for the diversification of the Bahamian economy that will allow for us to use the digital economy, e-commerce etc, for Bahamians to take advantage of and it’s a discussion that we will be having in the weeks and months ahead.”

 Back in 2020, a prominent World Trade Organisation advocate said he doubted The Bahamas will ever join WTO, adding: “You can lead a horse to water, but can’t make it drink.”

 Carey Leonard, the former Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) in-house attorney, told Tribune Business he was “disappointed, but not surprised” that Elsworth Johnson, then Cabinet minister with responsibility for the WTO negotiations, had told the House of Assembly that the Bahamas nation would not achieve full membership within the next five years.

 He argued that the result of “kicking the can further down the road” would only be to erode The Bahamas’ economic competitiveness and result in it “slipping further behind the rest of the world”.

 Regarding consumer pricing, Mr Halkitis said the government wants to assist store owners with bottlenecks to make business smoother.

 “In the short-term little can be done,” he said, regarding inflation. “We have been in discussion with some wholesalers to see how, if there is anything in terms of government processes to see if there is anything that we can’t do to smooth any bottlenecks so that their businesses may be improved.

 “Our view is to empower the Consumer and Prices Commission to ensure that we avoid any sort of gouging that uses an excuse of unrest to unfairly hike up pricing, but we are a small economy in an increasingly integrated global economy and the world is still a very dangerous place.

 “So, when you think it’s peace and safety and COVID is behind you and you are looking in the right direction and things are starting to pick up, there is an outbreak of war and then the response to it is a global sanction programme that all of it taken together causes disruption and uncertainty which is just as bad.”