St Lucia

Location : Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago 

Capital : Castries

Languages : English (official), French patois 

Area : 616 sq km

Land Use : arable land: 6.56%; permanent crops: 22.95%; other: 70.49% (2001)

Natural Resources : forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential

Population : 166,312 (July 2005 est.).

Labour force : 43,800 (2001 est.)

Labour force participation rate : 26.34% of population (2001 est.)

International Organisation participation : ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

GDP per capita : U$5,400 (2002 est.)

GDP Real Growth Rate : 3.3% (2002 est.)

GDP sectoral composition : agriculture: 7%; industry: 20%; services: 73% (2002 est.)

Industries: clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing and coconut processing.

Industrial production growth rate : -8.9% (1997 est.) 

Agriculture - products : bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa

Exports : U$66 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities : bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil

Exports - partners : UK 41.4%, US 16.5%, Brazil 11.6%, Barbados 5.8%, Antigua and Barbuda 4.6%, Dominica 4.5% (2004)

Imports : U$ 267 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities : food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels

Imports - partners : US 27.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 20.4%, UK 8%, Venezuela 7.6%, Finland 7% (2004)

QUALITATIVE TRADE PROFILE

St. Lucia applies the CARICOM Common External Tariff (CET). The tariff generally applies a top rate of 20% for industrial goods and 45% for agricultural products. The structure of the tariff is based on the concept of the economic use of the goods, differentiated between inputs and final goods. Inputs are identified as primary, intermediate or capital goods, while for final goods, distinction is made between basic and non-basic categories of goods. Certain foodstuffs and other supplies are classified as basic, while all other final goods are non-basic. In addition to import duties, St. Lucia applies a customs service charge of 4% on the c.i.f. value of all imports

All tariff lines, with the exception of two were bound during the Uruguay Round. Agricultural products were bound at a ceiling level of 100% with some exceptions above that rate. The simple average MFN tariff in 2000 was 10.1%. The average MFN tariff for agricultural products was 16.6%, and 8.8% for non-agricultural products. Duty-free treatment is accorded to 38.8% of tariff lines for MFN imports, while some two thirds of the lines are subject to tariffs of 10% or lower. Almost one third of tariff lines on agricultural products are subject to a rate of 40%. The maximum applied rate for exceptions to the CET can be as high as 70% for some kinds of arms and ammunition, 45% for alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, and 35% for motor vehicles,

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 

Economic policy formulation, including trade policy, begins in the various ministries, which present their policies in the form of a plan for a specific period. Policies are also reflected in performance criteria, which appear in the national budget and contain the targets set by the ministries. In some cases, the plans may be reviewed by the ministries during the financial year. The plans are also considered by the Cabinet of Ministers during deliberations. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs plays a coordinating role in that it determines the financial constraints that affect policies, and assists the Government in identifying priority areas.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Ministry of Commerce, International Financial Services and Consumer Affairs are involved in the formulation of trade policies and, therefore, carry out reviews and assessments. In both cases, there is provision for public participation, primarily through consultations with private sector bodies, such as the Chamber of Commerce.

As a member of OECS and CARICOM, St. Lucia is committed to a regionally coordinated external trade policy for the group. It therefore coordinates closely with the relevant regional agencies on trade policy matters, including the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM).

TRADE AGREEMENTS

Bilateral

St. Lucia 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 Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. The Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) provides for duty-free access to the U.S. market for a range of St. Lucia's exports. Exports from St. Lucia also enjoy preferential access to the Canadian market through the Canadian Programs for Commonwealth Caribbean Trade, Investment and Industrial Cooperation (CARIBCAN). Through CARICOM, St. Lucia is currently negotiating a free trade agreement to replace CARIBCAN as well as a free trade agreement with MERCUSOR.

Regional

St. Lucia 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. Lucia 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. Lucia is a founding member of the WTO and extends at least MFN treatment to all its trading partners. It has GATS commitments in 8 sectors.

NEED PRIORITIES

Priority areas for St. Lucia are; technical assistance in national trade and commercial policies, trade related legislation, service sector, standards compliance and competition policy; impact studies for EPA and WTO negotiations and upgrading human resource capacity.

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