St Kitts and Nevis

Location : Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago

Capital : Basseterre

Languages : English 

Area : 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)

Land Use : arable land: 19.44%; permanent crops: 2.78%; other: 77.78% (2001)

Natural Resources : arable land

Population : 38,958 (July 2005 est.).

Labour force : 18,170 (June 1995) 

Labour force participation rate : 46.64% of population (June 1995)

International Organisation participation : ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO 

GDP per capita : U$8,800 (2002 est.)

GDP Real Growth Rate : -1.9% (2002 est.)

GDP sectoral composition : agriculture: 3.5%; industry: 25.8%; services: 70.7% (2001)

Industries: sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages 

Agriculture - products : sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish

Exports : U$70 million (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities : machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco

Exports - partners : US 58%, Canada 9%, Portugal 8.3%, UK 6.9% (2004)

Imports : U$195 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities : machinery, manufactures, food, fuels

Imports - partners : US 33.1%, Italy 19.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.5%, UK 9.8%, Denmark 6% (2004)

QUALITATIVE TRADE PROFILE  

During the Uruguay Round, St. Kitts and Nevis bound all its tariff lines. Agricultural products were bound at a ceiling level of 100%, except for some products bound at rates between 10% and 250%, in some cases with an implementation period of ten years . St. Kitts and Nevis bound its tariffs on imports of non-agricultural items at a ceiling rate of 70% with a number of exceptions, mainly cement, petroleum products, some textiles, and industrial goods subject to import restrictions under Article 56 of the CARICOM Treaty, which were bound at rates between 87% and 150%. Other duties and charges, comprising the customs service charge and the consumption tax, were bound for all tariff lines at a general rate of 18% with a number of exceptions subject to generally lower rates. St. Kitts and Nevis is the only OECS country to have recorded other duties and charges applied on imports in its WTO Tariff Schedule.

St. Kitts and Nevis applies the CARICOM Common External Tariff (CET). The simple average MFN tariff in 2000 was 11.5%, granting a protection rate of 14.5% including the customs service charge. The average MFN tariff for agricultural products was 16.1% (19.1% including customs service charge), and 10.6% (13.6%) for non‑agricultural products. Duty-free treatment is accorded to 23.7% of tariff lines; around two thirds of all tariff lines are subject to rates between 0 and 10% (Chart III.1). The remaining lines are subject to tariffs ranging between 10% and 70% for industrial products, or 40% for agricultural goods.

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and CARICOM Affairs is responsible for concluding and signing trade treaties and other trade-related agreements with foreign countries. The Ministry also deals with all international trade issues and acts as a coordinator in trade policy discussions and formulation. The Ministry of Finance, Development and Planning, through the Customs and Excise Department, is directly responsible for tariffs and customs valuation. It is also responsible, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and CARICOM Affairs, for the formulation of policy relating to services and to foreign direct investment. Matters related to anti-dumping, subsidies, and competition policy fall under the ambit of the Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which is, in general, responsible for consumer protection. Other agencies involved in trade include the Ministry of Agriculture, Co-operatives, Lands and Housing, the Office of the Attorney General, and the St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards.

The authorities indicated that trade policy is coordinated at the national level with the private sector. The views of the private sector are generally expressed through the local Chamber of Industry and Commerce. In addition, the views of labour unions are taken into account.

St. Kitts and Nevis coordinates trade policy, investment issues, foreign affairs, services, and restrictive business practices issues with other OECS and CARICOM member States. Agricultural policies are not coordinated to a significant extent, although the aim is to achieve more coordinated and convergent policies with the aid of the Regional Transformation Programme (RTP).

TRADE AGREEMENTS

Bilateral

St. Kitts and Nevis has bilateral trade agreements with Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It is a beneficiary of the General System of Preferences schemes of several countries, the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and the Canadian Programs for Commonwealth Caribbean Trade, Investment and Industrial Cooperation (CARIBCAN). Through CARICOM, Grenada is currently negotiating a free trade agreement to replace CARIBCAN as well as a free trade agreement with MERCUSOR.

Regional

St. Kitts and Nevis participates in a number of regional and preferential trade arrangements, namely:  the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).Through the latter it is a part of a fully established monetary union with the other states of the Eastern Caribbean. St. Kitts and Nevis is currently negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU through the CARIFORUM configuration. It is also involved in negotiations to form the hemispheric Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Multilateral

St. Kitts and Nevis is a WTO Member and applies at least MFN treatment to all its trading partners. It has GATS commitments in 8 sectors.

NEED PRIORITIES

St. Kitts and Nevis' need priorities are; establishing an institutional mechanism to fulfil WTO obligations; incorporating WTO obligations into domestic legislation; assessing technical assistance needs; developing the requisite administrative infrastructure and human resource development.

Source: Commonwealth Yearbook, World Fact Book, WTO Secretariat.