Why blame trade agreements?

by Rick Lowe

The Tribune attributed a statement to Mr. Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs in their headline story in the business section this morning.

The story was related to the possible purchase of Caribbean Bottling (local Coca-Cola bottler) by a local group that has as one of their "key players" a company called Banks Brewery of Barbados.

The specific comment attributed to the Minister was "Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs, previously said the Government was increasingly likely to be asked for investment policy waivers, as the Bahamas became ever more integrated into the global economy, and contemplated joining various trade agreements.

While this arrangement (purchase of Caribbean Bottling) does not have anything to do with The Bahamas intention to join any of the trade pacts being discussed at this time, it brings up an interesting question: Is our investment policy so out of sync with economic reality that it should be changed regardless of trade pacts or not?

In other words, what is wrong with trading for tradings sake?

If no other Bahamian group or individual has the interest or capital to invest, or they have lost the bid to the group with foreign investors, get on with the approval so business can continue.

On a selfish note, the stores need Diet Coke on the shelves!

Trade has been key to economic growth for centuries now. Please don't impede it with politico's that have never run a business. The legal framework for trading has also been set for years so there is no need for even more regulation and red tape to slow the process even more.

So don't blame the so called trade pacts (FTAA, WTO) or the integration pacts (CSME) for our bad economic policy, let's get on with trading.

And if I didn't make myself clear earlier, we need Diet Coke on the store shelves!