join the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Finance Minister said yesterday.

The Hon. David Saul noted that Bermuda rejected association with the European Economic Community about 15 years ago and "that has not been revisited''.

NAFTA -- the new trading block that links the United States, Canada and Mexico -- is very new and has not been scrutinised in detail, Dr. Saul told The Royal Gazette .

"Once all the positives and negatives have been studied, the Government may show interest in that,'' he said.

Outside of the three countries that signed NAFTA, Argentina and Taiwan had expressed interest in joining, he said.

But NAFTA was primarily intended to ease the free movement of manufactured goods, while Bermuda had virtually no such goods to export. "It will need some considerable in-depth study,'' Dr. Saul said.

Bermuda would be able to make a decision within the next five years. As Europe and North America meld into two huge trading blocks, Bermuda finds itself stuck in between.

Tied to the revived Independence question is whether the Island should hitch its star to the east or west.

Claimed for Britain in 1609, Bermuda is geographically and economically much closer to America.

Financial pulls from the west are increasing, while Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan recently said ties to Britain were eroding.

Speaking recently at the Dependent Territories Conference in London, Sir John said NAFTA offered "certain opportunities for Bermuda'' and the Caribbean.

NAFTA "will afford the countries of the region an opportunity to grow and to obtain a number of benefits,'' he said. "The $64,000 question is, however, whether you can be a part of the European Community with all the benefits that arrangement offers and, at the same time, be a part of NAFTA.

"I suspect not and I think that we in Bermuda, together with our colleagues in the Caribbean, will need to address these issues.'' Mr. Louis Mowbray, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said a study of both NAFTA and the European Union was needed to make an informed decision.

"The big need here is to go into depth in terms of the pros and cons of both sets of relationships,'' Mr. Mowbray said. "The sooner, the better.'' It could well be that Bermuda was not forced to choose one over the other, he said. Unlike countries with economies based on exports, Bermuda might be able to have the best of both worlds.

"We have our traditional ties with the UK which would tend to point in the European direction. We have a lot more actual trading links with North America.

"It's six of one, half a dozen of the other, but I think on balance from a straight trade point of view and culturally, it probably would make more sense to be part of the North American sphere,'' Mr. Mowbray said.

"The pull, I think, is more toward North America at this point.'' Management and Technology Minister the Hon. Michael Winfield said Bermuda had "perpetually ... endeavoured to juggle'' relations with the United Kingdom and the United States and keep them in balance.

"Independence has a relevance to it,'' but "the real relevance to Independence is ourselves making up our own minds,'' he said.

Independence "definitely would enable us to negotiate more openly with other countries and other trading blocks,'' Sen. Winfield said.

But there could also be disadvantages he was not aware of.