SOME MEMBERS of the private sector community have been criticised for failing to contribute to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations.

Carlos Wharton, a trade consultant with the Barbados private sector trade team, who attended EPA negotiations over the past two years on behalf of the private sector, chided the sector for not playing an active role in constructing the relevant policies that would benefit the sector.

Active role

He said had the sector played a more active role, more could have been achieved on their behalf.

"We have one [negotiations] coming up with the Canadians and if we are to truly benefit from this arrangement then we need to have adequate representation from the international business sector.

"It does not make any sense having officials who are trained in the private sector and sometimes when you have seminars, you get limited turnout and you don't get the full benefits of what could be and it is a serious, serious problem," he said in addressing scores of business professionals at the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) luncheon at Savannah Hotel yesterday.

Additionally, said Wharton, it was a challenge then to explain the mechanics of a trade agreement to the members when they were not a part of the process.

He said businesses that were interested in their own future and surivival needed to pay more attention to the entire negotiating process. (JW)