Caribbean Trade & Development Digest – October 21 – 27, 2018

Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development Digest for the week of October 21-27, 2018! We are happy to bring you the major trade and development headlines and analysis from across the Caribbean Region and the world from the past week.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

The main headline this week was the Ottawa Ministerial Meeting on World Trade Organisation (WTO) reform held in Ottawa, Canada, from October 24-25 and chaired by Canada’s Minister of Trade International Trade Diversification, the Honourable Jim Carr. Ministers and Heads of Delegation from thirteen other ‘likeminded’ countries joined with Canada to discuss proposals on the way forward for strengthening and modernising the world’s multilateral trade body. The WTO’s Director General Roberto Azevedo also attended the meeting at the invitation of the organisers. The joint communique from this meeting may be found here. Canada has also released a discussion paper with its ideas for WTO reform, which may be found here.

Please have a read of the week’s other headlines below:

REGIONAL

Phillips Says Global Anti-Immigration Policies A Threat To Caribbean Progress

Jamaica Gleaner: Opposition Leader and People’s National Party (PNP) President Dr Peter Phillips today warned that Caribbean progress was under threat from a rise in anti-immigration policies in rich countries. Read more 

The Dominican Republic helps mango producers double exports

Why British trade with Africa, Caribbean and Pacific nations can boom after Brexit

Gov.UK: UK Trade Policy Minister, George Hollingbery, spoke in Brussels to representatives from the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states on why British trade with ACP nations can boom after Brexit. Read here.

RI takes first jab at Indonesia-Caribbean relations

The Jakarta Post: Following President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s orders to explore non-traditional trade markets, the government has moved to facilitate business-to-business talks between Indonesia and 15 countries joined in Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Read more 

Taiwanese business delegation visits St Lucia for investment and trade opportunities

Caribbean News Now: A business delegation from Taiwan arrived in Saint Lucia on October 24, 2018, to explore investment opportunities and engage potential business partners in Saint Lucia. Read more 

CTO Secretary General says complacency puts Caribbean people and economies at risk

Caribbean360: Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Hugh Riley has called on Caribbean states to take tsunami preparedness seriously, stating to do otherwise would put the people and regional economies at risk. Read more

IMF says recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean has lost momentum

Caribbean360: The International Monetary Fund’s Regional Economic Outlook for the Western Hemisphere has marked down its growth forecasts for Latin America and the Caribbean to 1.2 per cent in 2018 and 2.2 per cent in 2019, from the May 2018 forecasts of 2.0 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively. Read more

INTERNATIONAL

Vanuatu Trade Policy Review

WTO: The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu had its first review of its trade policies and practices which took place October 23 and 25. Read more 

Asia-Europe Meetings Close With Calls for Supporting WTO, Multilateralism

ICTSD Bridges: The 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) came to a close last week in Brussels, Belgium, where leaders from 51 countries examined options for greater cooperation on supporting the multilateral trading system, improving climate action, and otherwise backing multilateralism and shared policy objectives.  Read more 

EU, US Officials Consider Approaches, Objectives for Trade Negotiating Outcomes

ICTSD Bridges: Three months after US and EU leaders agreed to launch an “Executive Working Group” to tackle a series of trade issues, questions over how future talks will proceed and what those efforts will cover substantively remain, with trade officials offering differing public assessments in recent weeks. Read more 

UK signals failure of bid for quick Brexit transition at WTO

Reuters: Britain signalled on Thursday that its attempt to seal terms for its post-Brexit membership of the World Trade Organization by a fast-track procedure had failed, and it must now enter negotiations which are likely to be lengthy. Read more 

DDG Wolff: “It is essential that the WTO adapts to future changes in world trade”

WTO: In a lecture delivered to the Academy of Economic Studies in Chișinău, Moldova, on 24 October 2018, Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff said that much in the world of trade will change going forward, largely due to the emergence of new technologies. Read more 

Subsidies Committee members express concerns on lack of notifications

WTO: Members of the WTO’s Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures expressed concerns at their special meeting on 23 October about the failure of many members to notify the Committee of subsidy programmes. Read more

Canada ratifies Pacific rim deal 

CTV: A bill to enact a new trade pact with Pacific Rim countries has passed the legislative finish line, making Canada one of the first countries to ratify the 11-country deal. Read more 

Chilean Senate approves deepening of free trade agreement with China

Santiago Times: This week the Chilean Senate approved the protocol of deepening the Free Trade Agreement with China, a fact that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Ampuero, described as “very good news.” Read more 

Will Trump push for an ‘America first’ trade agreement in Asia modelled on his new Nafta deal?

South China Morning Post: US President Donald Trump seeks to redefine all major free-trade agreements on the basis of US economic and geopolitical leverage. In these efforts, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is likely to serve as a blueprint. Read more 

EU and Indonesia complete sixth round of negotiations for a trade agreement

EU: The sixth round of negotiations for an EU-Indonesia free trade agreement took place from 15 to 19 October in Palembang, Indonesia. Read more 

The Caribbean Trade & Development Digest is a weekly trade news digest published by the Caribbean Trade Law & Development Blog. Liked this issue? To read past issues, please visit here. To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please follow our blog.