There was general agreement that a wider range of organizations from civil society ought to have been more involved, equipped with information and background analysis of the structure of Caribbean economies, in the trade policy formulation process.

One of the main objectives of the meeting was to discuss the projected differential impact of the EPA arrangements on women and men in the Caribbean. Significant numbers of Caribbean people live below the poverty line, with insecure and low paying employment in agriculture, services and the informal economy. Women, who carry the burden of care for children, families and the elderly across the region, are particularly vulnerable to the fall out of negative consequences of the EPA, including the reduction in state revenue through the phased removal of import taxes and introduction and/or deepening of the application of VAT.

The meeting took note of past studies which showed that free trade arrangements have exposed Caribbean economies to negative shocks, related to loss of unemployment as industries move to countries with lower labour costs or to the dumping of subsidized agricultural products resulting in the erosion of local competiveness as in the case of the rice industry in Haiti.

Even while the umbrella Cotonou Agreement speaks to the importance of gender equitable outcomes and the need to take account of women's needs for economic opportunities, the meeting noted that the EPA made absolutely no reference to the need to urgently promote women's economic activities even though the EPA has poverty alleviation tool as one of its stated objectives.

Asking who benefits, Jason Jackson, a ECLAC/UNIFEM Consultant, suggested that the EPAs are based on assumptions of benefits to be gained from increased market access with little consideration of supply side challenges relating to the region's narrow production structure, for limited diversity of production, low levels of value-added exemplified by exports of unprocessed agricultural and mining goods, an undynamic tourism product with few linkages to the local economy.

He pointed to higher levels of unemployment amongst women across the region and noted that the majority of the poorest households are headed by single women. Any advantages to be gained by such sectors of women can only be realized with significant investment in skills training, in enterprise development as well as in active support from the state to these women-headed households.

The meeting agreed on further research on the projected gender impacts of the EPA and called for the identification of sectors which can realize benefits from the EPA and more so, which responds to the need for economic growth and gender equitable outcomes.