BOGOTA, Colombia (CMC) — The third and final round of negotiations for an Advance Preferential Market Access agreement between Colombia and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) is expected to take place later this year, with the objective of finalising the expanded agreement by the end of 2025.

The latest round of negotiations, aimed at expanding preferential market access between the parties, ended earlier this week with the two days of discussions described as “productive”.

According to the delegates, the meeting “reaffirmed both sides’ commitment to deepening trade relations and strengthening regional economic integration, noting that the discussions focused on critical market access issues, including tariff mechanisms, product sensitivities, the exchange of trade data, and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards”.

“These SPS measures are vital to protecting human, animal and plant health from food safety risks, pests and diseases. Both delegations exchanged detailed information on their respective tariff regimes and provided clarification on the rationale for excluding certain products from liberalisation commitments within their offers.”

The meeting was informed that Suriname and Haiti have now been included in the 1995 Partial Scope Agreement between Caricom and Colombia.

Suriname will accede as a more developed country (MDC), taking on only existing commitments without new liberalisation obligations, while Haiti will join as a less developed country (LDC) with similar exemptions.

The legal documentation is being finalised to formalise the accession, the meeting was told, with both Caricom and Colombia acknowledging the need to balance economic sensitivities with commercial opportunities, and reaffirming their shared commitment to fostering inclusive, transparent and development-oriented trade outcomes.