European Commission Directorate-General for Trade

Economic Partnerships Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 20 March 2012

Helping Haitian businesses prosper: the EU’s aid for trade and the CARIFORUM-EU EPA

This page describes past events and is no longer updated.

In March 2012 over 50 Haitian businesspeople met to find out how to take advantage of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the EU’s support for businesses in the country.

The European Commission and the EU Delegation to Haiti organised the seminar in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Those taking part looked at:
 

- the agreement's contents; 
- ways in which to put the EPA to work for their businesses – by:
        * increasing their exports; 
        * attracting outside investment; and 
        * thereby driving growth and job creation in Haiti;
- EU financial assistance to help the private sector do just that;
- other tools to help Haitian businesses use the EPA, including the Export Helpdesk.

Participants also learned about the mechanics of exporting their products to the EU, including:

- technical and health and safety standards which they need to meet;
- the EU's rules on what constitute 'Haitian' or 'Caribbean' products (rules of origin);
- the procedures and paperwork involved when exporting to the European market.

Find out more:

What was discussed
• Press release
• Programme with links to presentations

Who took part
• Participants
• Photos

What others said
• Media coverage