Former Barbados prime minister, Owen Arthur, says Caribbean Community regional countries have failed to take full advantage of the 10-year-old Economic partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) and the European Union.
Arthur, who is Professor of Practice at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), told a public lecture, sponsored by the Shridath Ramphal Centre (SRC), earlier this week, that information obtained from the United Kingdom revenue and customs report showed that British imports from CARIFORUM countries had declined from £662 million (One British Pound=US$1.31 cents) in 2008 to £449 million in 2017.