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During this period of review, Antigua and Barbuda continues to be challenged having to actively engage in parallel and simultaneous negotiations that are ongoing at the multilateral, hemispheric, regional and bilateral levels. In addition, the trade agenda has expanded even more addressing issues such as climate change, value added trade, food security, environment technologies to name a few, which are beyond the traditional trade agenda issues such as barriers to trade, tariffs, and trade in services. Antigua and Barbuda still has problems of lack of human and technical capacity to cover these negotiations, achieve effective policy synthesis with cross cutting sectoral issues, and fulfil its notification requirements with its international obligations at each negotiation level.

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and 15 Caribbean States in the CARIFORUM group, including Antigua and Barbuda, was signed in 2008. (…) The agreement also covers trade in services, public procurement, intellectual property rights, and environmental protection.

The Environmental Protection Levy Act of 2002 provides for a levy on imported and domestically produced goods so as to protect, preserve, and enhance the environment. The levy applies at EC$0.25 per container on glass and plastic containers and EC$1,000-EC$4,000 on motor vehicles. Tyres, electric accumulators, white goods, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, and toasters are also subject to this levy.

The Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Act of 2008 contains the main provisions on the registration, import, sale, transport, disposal, control, and inspection of pesticides. The Act establishes the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board, which functions under the Ministry of Agriculture. The Board is in charge of implementing the Act. The Board is also responsible for, inter alia, considering applications for registration; granting or revoking licences; approving research permits; and certifying pest control operators.

(…) Schedule 3 of the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Act of 2008 lists prohibited pesticides and chemicals.

The Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Act of 2008 lists controlled pesticides and chemicals (schedule 2). The import of these is restricted and requires a licence from the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board.

The importation of soil or products containing soil is prohibited. Imported plants should be free of soil. A pest-risk assessment is conducted on each requested commodity before a decision is made whether the risk of importation is acceptable (minimal or non-existent). The importer is issued an import permit from the Ministry of Agriculture for each shipment and is instructed to communicate Antigua and Barbuda's import requirements to the exporter. Plant quarantine inspectors, stationed at the two main ports of entry, are responsible for conducting inspections of all plants and plant products that enter via these and the minor ports. Surveillance for general pest management is carried out periodically in high-risk areas within the country. From time to time, surveys are conducted for pests of quarantine significance such as the boll weevil, the mango seed weevil, and fruit flies.

(…) Imports of refrigerators, motor vehicles, air conditioning units, and other goods are banned if they contain ozone-depleting substances. Imports of vehicles using freon in their air-conditioning system are prohibited. (…)

For specific goods such as refrigerators, motor vehicles, air conditioning units and other equipment which can operate using Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS), a Refrigerant Form must be completed in addition to the Import License Form. The Refrigerant Forms are obtained from the Ozone Unit, which is a unit that is in the Department of Trade, Industry and Commerce.

(…) Non-automatic licensing is applied on products subject to tariffication under Article 164 of the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (aerated beverages, beer, stout, ale, porter, pasta, candles, solar water heaters, oxygen in cylinder, carbon dioxide in cylinder, acetylene in cylinder, chairs and other seats of wood and upholstered fabric, other furniture of wood and upholstered fabric, mops); imports of animals, poultry, livestock, and poultry products; plants and plant products; pesticides; drugs and antibiotics; firearms, fireworks, arms and ammunition; and chemicals controlled by the Montreal Protocol). For all other products, licences are granted on request. The import licensing regime is administered by the Ministry of Finance and the Economy.