Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Month: October 2017

  • Caribbean Trade and Development Digest – October 15-21, 2017

    Caribbean Trade and Development Digest – October 15-21, 2017

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development Digest for the week of October 15-21, 2017! We are pleased to share some of the major trade and development headlines and analysis across the Caribbean region and the World. We hope you enjoy this edition.

    REGIONAL

    Cuba, T&T trade ties growing, says Cuba ambassador

    Trinidad Guardian: Despite the American economic embargo against Cuba, T&T businesses continue to show interest in commercial ties with the island said Cuban Ambassador Guillermo Vázquez Moreno. Read more

    (Jamaica) Senate passes law to speed up exports

    Jamaica Gleaner: The Senate yesterday passed legislation amending the Processed Food Act and the Processed Food (General) Regulations, 1959, removing the requirement for export certificates to facilitate the implementation of the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA). Read more

    COTED green-lights Agriculture Regional Emergency Response Team

    ST Kitts & Nevis Observer: The Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) has approved the Regional Agriculture Emergency Response Sub-Committee to provide prompt action to help the agriculture sector in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states to rebound after natural disasters. Read more

    CARDI ready to take action to rebuild agriculture in Barbuda, Dominica

    Caribbean News Now: The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) has already begun taking action to restore the battered agriculture sectors in Barbuda and Dominica. Read more

    UWI launches Centre for Reparations Research

    Jamaica Observer: The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, this week officially launched Centre for Reparation Research at the campus. Read more

    Meat safety training for Caribbean countries

    Jamaica Observer: A two-day regional training workshop covering hygiene provisions for raw meat, meat preparations and manufactured meat from the time of live animal production up to the point of retail sale, gets underway here on Tuesday. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL

    ACP trade ministers reaffirm commitment to multilateral trade system

    Caribbean News Now: Ministers and senior officials responsible for trade from 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries reaffirmed their strong and resounding commitment to the multilateral trading system, at the conclusion of the 20th ACP Ministerial Trade Committee meeting held in Brussels on 18-19 October. Read more

    Ukraine files WTO Complaint over Russia, import, transit restrictions

    WTO: Ukraine has requested WTO consultations with Russia regarding Russian measures affecting trade in certain products such as juice, alcoholic beverages, confectionery and wallpaper from Ukraine. The request was circulated to WTO members on 19 October. Read more

    Dubai set to host Africa trade summit

    The Standard: Dubai will this November host African heads of State and business leaders at a forum to discuss the continent’s economic outlook and investment opportunities for countries in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Read more

    Canada ‘extremely worried’ about NAFTA: Ambrose

    CTV: Behind the scenes Canadian officials are “extremely worried” about where the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations are headed, and it’s time to be worried, says Rona Ambrose, a member of Canada’s NAFTA Advisory Council. Read more

    UK Trade Secretary Dismisses ‘Nightmare’ of No-deal Brexit

    Bloomberg: U.K. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said leaving the European Union without a deal for future business isn’t a “nightmare scenario” for Britain. Read more

    US will not interfere in EU trade with Iran, says Tillerson

    Reuters: The United States does not aim to impede European trade and business transactions with Iran despite President Donald Trump’s decision last week to decertify the 2015 nuclear agreement, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the Wall Street Journal. Read more

    ‘We need trade deals’: Swedish PM opposes Macron’s call to slow down

    The Local: Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has said he opposes moves by French President Emmanuel Macron to slam the brakes on free trade deals. Read more

    New Zealand’s Ardern wants to balance trade pact with housing pledge

    Bloomberg: Incoming leader Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand will still seek membership in the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership even as she strives to honor her election campaign pledge to clamp down on foreign property speculators. Read more

    Details of a massive trade deal among 11 heavyweight economies may be announced next month

    CNBC: Ten months after President Donald Trump abandoned what was pegged as the world’s biggest trade deal, its surviving participants may be close to a new agreement. Read more

    US pushes ‘fair trade’ as economic talks with Japan advance

    Bloomberg: The Trump administration is advocating for a more balanced trade relationship with Japan as high-level economic talks with the Asian nation advance this week in Washington, according to Vice President Mike Pence. Read more

    WTO: On 17 October the WTO issued the panel report in the case brought by Brazil in “Indonesia – Measures Concerning the Importation of Chicken Meat And Chicken Products” (WT/DS484). Read more

    Azevedo underlines growing importance of services trade

    WTO: Speaking at the Global Services Summit in Washington D.C. on 17 October 2017, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo highlighted that trade in services accounts for almost 50 per cent of world trade today. Read more

    Afghanistan and Brazil welcomed as observers to WTO Government Procurement Agreement

    WTO: The WTO Committee on Government Procurement agreed on 18 October to grant observer status to Afghanistan and Brazil. Members welcomed Afghanistan’s commitment to seek eventual accession to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). Some also expressed hopes that Brazil might, in the future, consider acceding to the Agreement. Read more

    Liked this issue? To read past issues of our weekly Caribbean Trade & Development Digest, please visit here. To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please follow our blog.

     

  • Caribbean Trade and Development Digest – October 8-14, 2017

    Caribbean Trade and Development Digest – October 8-14, 2017

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development Digest for the week of October 8-14, 2017! We are pleased to share some of the major trade and development headlines and analysis across the Caribbean region and the World. We hope you enjoy this edition.

    REGIONAL

    COTED approves of poultry plants to sell products within CARICOM

    Jamaica Observer: Nine poultry processing plants in the region have been approved to trade among member states as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) continues to move steadily towards increasing intra-regional and food security, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat has announced. Read more

    Column:Brexit’s Impact on British Overseas Territories

    Bernews: An opinion column written by Paul Hare. Read more

    CARICOM to push for concessionary funding during meetings with US next week

    Jamaica Observer: Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries will use “important meetings” in the United States next week to push the international community to re-think its policies regarding regional countries that are no longer eligible for concessionary loans and other forms of preferential treatment, St Lucia’s Prime Minister Allan Chastanet said on Friday. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL

    We’ve got the A-Team of talks, says Liam Fox

    Express UK: International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has hit back at claims his negotiators don’t have enough experience to strike deals with the US and other countries post-Brexit, describing them as the “A-Team”. Read more

    South Africa committed to enhancing Intra-African trade

    allAfrica: President Jacob Zuma says South Africa remains committed to boosting intra-African trade, which will be equitably beneficial for all participating countries. Read more

    Mexico, Canada pledge trade unity as NAFTA negotiations continue

    The Hill: Mexico and Canada are vowing to continue work on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after an unproductive fourth round of negotiations in Washington. Read more

    Japan exasperated by Trump’s trade policies

    Politico: Japanese officials are expressing growing frustration with the Trump administration’s economic policies, vowing to continue striking trade deals with other countries that undercut U.S. agricultural exports rather than seek a new trade agreement with the United States. Read more

    Turkey, Indonesia agree to trade talks

    Anadolu Agency: Indonesian and Turkish governments on Thursday agreed to start negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in November in an attempt to further strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries. Read more

    Pacific Trade Advances without the US

    Wall Street Journal: The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact is regaining momentum despite the Trump Administration’s January decision to withdraw. Representatives of the remaining 11 TPP members met last month in Japan to push for ratification as early as November in the hope that Washington will rejoin. Read more

    UK and EU formally inform of post-Brexit tariff quota plan

    The Guardian: Britain and the EU have formally informed members of the World Trade Organisation how they plan to split up the EU’s tariff quotas and farm subsidies after Brexit in a plan already rejected by the White House. Read more

    WTO DG Azevedo tells ministers more commitment is needed to deliver success at MC11

    WTO: At an informal ministerial gathering in Marrakesh on 9-10 October, hosted by Morocco and Argentina, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo told ministers that there were some promising issues on the table, but in all areas there remains a long way to go in order to deliver a successful outcome at the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in December. Read more

    Qatar escalates UAE trade dispute

    Reuters: Qatar has asked the World Trade Organization to set up a dispute panel to adjudicate on its row with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar said in a document published by the WTO on Thursday, escalating a trade complaint it lodged with the WTO in July. Read more

    India and EU to look at ways to restart trade pact talks

    The Economic Times: India and the European Union plan to take stock of the proposed free trade agreement negotiations next month and explore ways to put in place a framework to resume the stalled talks. Read more

    Economist sees merit in Pacific trade deal (PACER Plus)

    Radio New Zealand: An economist says the PACER Plus trade agreement still has benefits for smaller Pacific states, despite two of the region’s bigger economies not signing up to the deal. Read more

    Pangolin trade forces Ghana to look at new wildlife laws

    Sunday Times: Ghana is facing calls to update its laws on wildlife crime after fears the country has become a transit route for the illegal trade in pangolin scales. Read more

    Asia-Pacific Services Trade needs more harmonised regulation

    Asia Times: Preliminary research has found that it is in the best interest of Asia-Pacific services trade partners in emerging sectors to access the largest possible legal framework, and from within that framework raise the standards of membership in terms of domestic regulation harmonization. Read more

    Liked this issue? To read past issues of our weekly Caribbean Trade & Development Digest, please visit here. To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please follow our blog.

  • Caribbean leaders place spotlight on climate change at UNGA

    Caribbean leaders place spotlight on climate change at UNGA

    “To deny climate change is to deny a truth we have just lived” – The Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica

    Alicia Nicholls

    These powerful words uttered by Prime Minister of Dominica, The Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit were perhaps the most memorable from the United Nations’ General Assembly (UNGA) seventy-second session. It was against the tragic backdrop of the devastation inflicted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria on several Caribbean islands that successive Caribbean leaders made their addresses during the UNGA general debate, highlighting the urgency of the need to address climate change in a meaningful way.

    There were many moving addresses, but the most impactful  was the address by Mr Skerrit, whose country was severely battered by the Category 5 power of Hurricane Maria just days before. Reiterating that he was “coming from the front line of the war on climate change”, Mr. Skerrit reminded participants of the horror which Tropical Storm Erika had inflicted on the island back in 2015 and the tragedy currently unfolding due to Hurricane Maria where the confirmed death toll is 27 and several other persons remain missing.

    In the space of a couple of hours, Dominica’s iconic mountains, once resplendent in coats of green and through which flowed clear rivers, had turned brown with mud and rubble. Some 95% of homes have reportedly lost their roofs in some places. Every one of the Nature Isle’s 70,000 inhabitants has been affected in some way.

    Proclaiming that “Eden is broken”, he declared that Dominica was faced with “an international humanitarian emergency”. A fortnight before Maria hit Dominica, Barbuda, the smaller of the two main islands of the country of Antigua & Barbuda, was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Irma, leading to a complete evacuation of the entire island after the crisis. Hurricane Irma also did not spare Cuba or the island of St. Martin, split between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of France.

    But besides the human and infrastructural losses, the economic toll will be equally enduring for those countries affected. A recent report estimates that Hurricane Irma caused $45 billion in damage in the Caribbean, with at least $30 billion in Puerto Rico.   With Maria, this toll will be expected to rise. A rapid damage and assessment had found that Tropical Storm Erika in 2015 had inflicted loss and damage on Dominica of US$483 million, equivalent to 90% of the island’s GDP. Hurricane Maria was much worse.

    While climate change is not the cause of hurricanes, warmer waters in the Atlantic is believed by scientists to be the cause of stronger, more powerful hurricanes during this hurricane season. Hurricane Irma and Maria both rapidly developed into Category 5 hurricanes and the back to back pummeling of several Caribbean islands by two Category 5 hurricanes in such a short space of time is certainly not an everyday occurence, but one which may become a more frequent reality as global temperatures increase.

    It is these realities which led Caribbean countries and other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to be at the forefront of climate change negotiations which eventually led to the historic Paris Agreement being signed in December, 2015. It is why the decision by US President Donald Trump to declare that the US, the world’s largest polluter, would be pulling out of the Paris Agreement was extremely unfortunate.

    As Hurricane Harvey and Irma potently showed in the US states of Texas and Florida, wealthy nations like the US are not immune to the more deadly effects of climate change. However, Caribbean countries, like all SIDS, are poorly equipped, both geographically and economically, to confront these disasters. Their fragile economies are dependent on industries which are among the first economic victims of storm devastation, tourism being the clearest example.

    Moreover, their generally high  GDP per capita and “middle income” designation makes most concessionary loans and certain types of development aid beyond their reach due to outdated notions that GDP per capita is a good measure of wealth for countries. This point was raised in the address by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados, Senator the Honourable Maxine McClean. Barbados was spared the devastation of both Hurricanes Irma and Maria and has been among the forefront of relief efforts in Dominica.

    As was eloquently put in a recent World Bank blog, hurricanes can seriously turn back the developmental clock. This is certainly the case with Dominica which was still in many ways recovering from Tropical Storm Erika and will face a much longer recovery following Hurricane Maria. It is also the case with the US territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands which are also facing tremendous human suffering after being pounded by both Irma and Maria. Puerto Rico’s economy was already fragile due to the huge debt crisis being faced and is now faced with many places without drinking water or electricity.

    Platitudes and best endeavour promises do little to allay the reality that there is little time left to reverse the damage which has been done and reverse course towards more severe temperature increases. The Paris Agreement was an important step but there needs to be stronger commitment, ambition and meaningful action by all nations, especially those which are the most responsible for atmospheric pollution, to take steps to meet and go beyond the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets they set for themselves.

    There also needs to be greater support for SIDS which bear a disproportionate brunt of the consequences. The issue of climate finance was raised by Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua & Barbuda, who mentioned debt swaps as a possible option, and the need for greater finance for building resilience, as well as reminded participants of the economic vulnerability of countries which were faced with high debt, large trade deficits and small, undeveloped financial markets.

    As Prime Minister of Dominica, Mr. Skerrit rightly stated, “we need action and we need it now”.

    Mr. Skerrit’s full speech may be viewed here.

    The CTLD Blog extends our heartfelt sympathy to all our Caribbean brothers and sisters affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma and Maria.

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B., is a trade and development consultant with a keen interest in sustainable development, international law and trade. You can also read more of her commentaries and follow her on Twitter @LicyLaw.

     

  • Caribbean Trade and Development Digest – September 24-October 1, 2017

    Caribbean Trade and Development Digest – September 24-October 1, 2017

    Source: Pixabay

    We’re back! Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development Digest for the week of September 24-October 1, 2017! We are pleased to share some of the major trade and development headlines and analysis across the Caribbean region and the World. We hope you enjoy this edition.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Online plaforms launched to promote regional trade, business

    St Kitts & Nevis Observer: The Caribbean community’s development of a single market and economy has been given a boost with the launch of four new online platforms aimed at promoting trade and improving the ease of doing business. Read more

    Services an untapped growth sector

    Jamaica Information Service: Head of the Trade Agreements Implementation Unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Symone Betton-Nayo, says the services sector remains an untapped area that offers tremendous opportunity for Jamaica’s economic growth and development. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    WTO Chief Warns of Risks to Trade Peace

    Financial Times: The head of the World Trade Organization has warned that the Trump administration’s blocking of the appointment of new judges to hear international disputes risks undermining a system that has kept trade wars at bay for more than two decades. Read more

    Interview: Pacific Alliance tackles non-tariff trade barriers

    Xinhua: Latin America’s Pacific Alliance is looking to do away with non-tariff obstacles to trade between its members Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, according to a top Peruvian businessman. Read more

    Cross-border rail links: the spark to ignite intra-African trade?

    International Railway Journal: Trade between African nations is considered one of the continent’s great untapped economic opportunities, but poor cross-border connectivity continues to hinder growth. Keith Barrow reports from Cape Town on the potential role for rail in unleashing intra-African trade. Read more

    Philippines revives plan to join Trans-Pacific Partnership

    Philstar Global: The Philippines is reviving its plan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) even as the mega-trade deal pushes through without the US, the Department of Trade and Industry said. Read more

    Britain caught in cross fire of trade spat between Boeing and Bombadier

    The Globe and Mail: Britain, caught in the crossfire of a damaging trade dispute between airplane makers Boeing Co. and Bombardier Inc., said on Sunday it would fight to protect thousands of jobs put at risk in Northern Ireland. Read more

    Ciobo chases Mexico free-trade deal

    The Australian: Trade Minister Steven Ciobo will lead a business delegation to ­Mexico to open new opportunities for Australian companies as free-trade talks progress for a new Latin American free-trading bloc.  Read more

    The US made the global trade rules it claims are unfair

    The South China Morning Post: If trade conflict erupts between China and the United States in the coming year, it will certainly not be for want of both sides trying to keep the peace. Read more

    Ireland hopes to boost exports under Japan-EU Agreement

    Japan Times: Ireland hopes to boost exports to Japan under an economic partnership pact the European Union and Japan reached a broad agreement on in July, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald said in a recent interview. Read more

    Zambia Commerce Minister saddened by low intra-African trade

    Lusaka Times: MINISTER of Commerce, Industry and Trade Margaret Mwanakatwe has called for concerted efforts in boosting intra-Africa trade. Read more

    Liked this issue? Read past issues of our weekly Caribbean Trade & Development Digest, please visit here. To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please follow our blog.