Located in Bridgetown, Barbados, the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) is an Inter-Governmental Organisation among the fifteen Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It is the successor to the Caribbean Common Market Standards Council (CCMSC), and supports the CARICOM mandate in the expansion of intra-regional and extra-regional trade in goods and services. CROSQ is the regional centre for promoting efficiency and competitive production in goods and services, through the process of standardization and the verification of quality. It is mandated to represent the interest of the region in international hemispheric standards work, to promote the harmonization of metrology systems and standards, and to increase the pace of development of regional standards for the sustainable production of goods and services in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and the enhancement of social and economic development. |
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| CROSQ Requesting Expressions of Interest for Project Coordinator
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Wednesday, 25 January 2012 16:32
CROSQ has received financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) towards the cost of a Technical Assistance for the Preparation of Caribbean Building Standards and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to the procurement of services of a Consultant Project Coordinator – Technical Assistance – Preparation of Caribbean Building Standards.
The duration of the assignment is expected to be for a period of 24 months.
CROSQ now invites interested eligible individual consultants to submit Expressions of Interest for the provision of these consultancy services by no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 24, 2012. The Expressions of Interest must be submitted in the format of detailed curricula vitae and all information must be in English.
CROSQ reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not short-listing any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.
Further details on the qualifications, requirements for submission and objectives of the consultancy can be obtained from the detailed Request for Expressions of Interest. |
| Empowering the Region's Exporters
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Tuesday, 17 January 2012 14:15
When Caribbean countries signed the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in 2008, the region’s exports to the EU were just 16% of its total exports and trade was concentrated in a few areas. Since the EPA offered duty-free access to markets in the EU, businesses felt they had an excellent opportunity to increase and diversify their exports to that region. This was particularly true in fast-growing areas such as specialty foods and beverages.
However, the reality is that many businesses find it very difficult to penetrate EU markets partly because of existing "technical barriers to trade" (TBTs), including the need for product testing and certificates from recognised (accredited) laboratories.
In recognition of this need, the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) recently signed on to a Grant Agreement from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), through the UK-funded Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTFund), for the implementation of a project for strengthening regional testing laboratories.
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