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2.17. (...) There was also a constant threat of climate change and natural disasters, the impact of which could and did, bring all economic activity to a standstill when they occurred, including the ability to trade. Amid these challenges, the OECS-WTO Members saw a reduction in trade preferences, concessional financing, and development assistance. Their status as middle- to high income countries did not take into account their inherent vulnerabilities. Trade and economic relations should be conducted with the objective of sustainable development and should seek to strengthen and not undermine the policy space needed by the OECS as developing countries to practice their development. (...)

2.22. (...)The OECS can also legislate on common commercial, environmental, and immigration policies.

2.43. (...) The Agreement[CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement] also covers trade in services, public procurement, intellectual property rights, and environmental protection.

2.46. (...) When fully operationalized, the Committee[Special Committee on Services] will be tasked with: (...) (iii) facilitation of investment in sectors key in promoting sustainable development (such as tourism, research and development, and computer related services); (...)

3.19. (...) This third edition of the Article 164 regime[of the Treaty of Chaguaramas] covers 14 product groups across 39 tariff lines. These products groups are: (...) solar water heaters for domestic use (...)

3.24. Four of the countries apply an environmental levy, mainly on used cars and other goods that the authorities deem detrimental to the environment. The coverage of the levy both in terms of products and the rate charged differs across countries. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines applies a vehicle surcharge and a deposit on bottles, while Saint Lucia introduced and subsequently discontinued a 1% levy during the period under review.

3.32. The export restrictions applied by OECS-WTO Members are based on CITES standards: all of them ban exports of wild birds and wildlife. (...)

4.2. The agriculture sector faces challenges due to the OECS WTO Members being small island economies, where resources of land and water are scarce. Competitiveness is also affected by the fact that agriculture is dominated by small farm operations, making it difficult to achieve economies of scale. The sector is susceptible to exogenous shocks such as natural disasters and global market fluctuations. Hurricanes Ivan and Emily destroyed or significantly damaged Grenada's tree crops (e.g. nutmeg) in September 2004 and July 2005; Hurricane Tomas eradicated all banana plantations in Saint Lucia in October 2010; Hurricane Maria in September 2017 uprooted all banana and tuber plantations in Dominica and destroyed vast amounts of livestock; the La Soufrière volcano eruption in April 2021 almost wiped out the whole agriculture sector in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. All these natural disasters caused a significant setback in agricultural production.

3.49. Since the last Review, Dominica has made 17 notifications regarding technical regulations to the TBT Committee covering several aspects such as specifications on import and export requirements, (...) biodegradable products, (...)

3.50. (...) As of November 2022, Saint Kitts and Nevis had adopted seven compulsory national standards, based on international or regional standards, on packaged water; labelling of pre packaged food; labelling of goods; energy efficiency; tourism and related services; and environmental management. (...)