Caribbean Free Trade Bill

[MasterJedi]

Caribbean Free Trade Bill


1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this bill.
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Sponsor: Sen. MasterJedi

[MasterJedi]

I hereby open up the final vote on this bill. Please vote Aye, Nay or Abstain.

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this bill.

[MasterJedi]

Aye

[Gabu]

Aye, I guess.

[Democratic Hawk]

As per the Foreign Policy Review, there are no economic restrictions whatsoever on the vast majority of countries, and territories, in this Bill and I have no great reservations about Haiti or Trinidad and Tobago; indeed, it's something we should be doing in the case of Haiti in order to encourage democracy; therefore, I vote Aye on this Bill

Nevertheless, what I said with regards to the South American Free Trade Bill stands in the event of any of these countries taking a step back when it comes to political freedoms and civil rights

'Hawk'

[Hatman 🍁]

I'm going to have to vote nay on this one too.  Free trade bills need to be more exstensive than just a few lines if they are going to prevent some of the dangers associated with free trade.

[ilikeverin]

Abstain, again.  I vaguely like the idea in principle, but the point EarlAW brings is credible... it seems kind of, I dunno, abrupt to just willy nilly say "COMPLETE FREE TRADE!"

[jerusalemcar5]

I don't think it makes sense to have free trade with British territories, but not the UK (i.e. Montserrat, Virgin Islands).  Is that even possible?

[Keystone Phil]

Aye

[WMS]

Aye, I suppose.

[Bacon King]

Aye

[MasterJedi]

This bill has enough votes to pass. Senators now have 24 hours to change their votes.

[MasterJedi]

With 6 Ayes, 1 Nay and 1 Abstention this bill has passed. I hereby present it to the President for his signiture.

[Colin]

I don't think it makes sense to have free trade with British territories, but not the UK (i.e. Montserrat, Virgin Islands).  Is that even possible?

I was just going to bring that up. It may be possible with some of the home rule entities such as Bermuda or the Cayman Islands but not with more controlled territories such as Anguilla or Montserrat. You would have to deal with the British government first before you could negotiate with any of these nations. See this is the problem with unilateral trade agreements you often times approve agreements that aren't agreed to by the other party or that you actually couldn't negotiate with the other party.

I believe trade policy in most British territories as well as the Netherlands Antilles would probably rest first and foremost upon the approval of those nations parliaments and not with the territories in question.

[Ebowed]

Ebowed