by Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of July 14-20, 2019! 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. We apologise for the delay in this week’s edition.
REGIONAL NEWS
Action Plan in Place for CSME
CARICOM: It will be full steam ahead for implementing policies related to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), but with some revised timelines. Read more
U.S commits to increasing trade, investment in Guyana
St Lucia News Online: US Ambassador Lynch assured that the US will continue to partner with Guyana in not only oil production but other sectors in the country’s development. Read more
Barbados restructuring Customs Dep’t
Barbados Today: Making the disclosure yesterday, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn said the new management structure was part of the process of rebuilding and strengthening the Government agency, which had for several years been led by an acting comptroller of customs and had seen prolonged disruption in its operation during the former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) administration. Read more
Argentina and IICA to assist Barbados in Apiculture
Caribbean News Now: On July 15th, the Embassy of Argentina and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), launched in Bridgetown an innovative triangular cooperation project aimed at assisting local beekeepers and other stakeholders of the honey production sector. Read more
Cocoa Research Centre: Leads the way among world’s genebanks
Newsday: The Cocoa Research Centre has been around since 1930, as part of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, the precursor to the modern-day University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus. Read more
Grenada PM lauds joint UWI – regional rum industry initiative
Caribbean News Now: Prime Minister of Grenada Dr. Keith Mitchell has lauded the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between The University of the West Indies Open Campus and the regional rum industry grouping – the West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA). Read more
Licences approved as St Vincent’s Cannabis industry opens
LoopTT: Over 30 licences have been approved by the Medicinal Cannabis Authority (MCA) for the cultivation, development and export of medicinal marijuana products. Read more
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
South American bloc eyes fast-track for EU trade deal
Reuters: Leaders from countries in South America’s Mercosur trade bloc met on Wednesday in Argentina, with plans as to how to push forward a recently struck free-trade deal with the European Union at the center of discussions. Read more
Just 7% of Canadian exporters familiar with CETA as Trudeau pushes trade diversity: survey
Global News: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged European partners this week to finalize Canada’s trade deal with the EU, a push that came with his government facing a tough sales job at home: getting domestic firms to use it. Read more
Japanese official says negotiators working hard on U.S.-Japan trade deal
Reuters: U.S. and Japanese officials are working hard to reach agreement on a bilateral trade agreement, a senior Japanese official told Reuters on Wednesday, adding he was looking forward to news on the deal in the near future. Read more
Intra-African free trade deal success hinges on implementation and speed of execution
Business Day: The recently signed African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA), which came into force on May 30, represents a unique opportunity to grow intra-Africa trade and diversify trade exports with the rest of the world. Read more
Papua asks for govt help in bolstering trade network with Pacific nations
Jakarta Post: The Papua administration has requested that the central government assist it in bolstering the trade network with neighboring countries in the Pacific, as the province seeks to promote itself as a regional trading hub. Read more
Chinese Buyers Seek Tariff Exemptions for U.S. Farm Goods
Bloomberg: Some Chinese companies are applying for tariff exemptions as they make inquiries about buying U.S. agricultural products, more than a week after President Donald Trump complained that China hasn’t increased its purchases of American farm products. Read more
China, US said to be wrangling over text before trade talks can resume
South China Morning Post: China and the United States remain divided over which negotiating text to base their revived trade talks on, with Washington demanding a longer document be used that lists earlier promises made by Beijing, according to observers. Read more
Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit threat risks being ignored by the EU
Guardian: Boris Johnson’s suggestion he could use the threat of no deal to win an improved Brexit deal for the UK risks falling on deaf ears in Brussels, the EU’s top negotiator has suggested. Read more
South Korea trade ministry to raise Japan export curbs at WTO general council meeting
Reuters: South Korea’s trade ministry said on Sunday it plans to raise the “unfairness” of Japan’s export curbs at the World Trade Organization’s general council meeting on July 23 to 24. Read more
WTO opens way for Chinese sanctions against U.S. tariffs in Obama-era dispute
Reuters: The United States did not fully comply with a World Trade Organization ruling and could face Chinese sanctions if it does not remove certain tariffs that break WTO rules, the WTO’s appeals judges said in a ruling on Tuesday. Read more
WTO: Struggling to stay relevant
Business Line: The World Trade Organization (WTO) is facing an unprecedented existential crisis. The challenges to WTO are coming from various quarters but the biggest threat is from one of its former proponents — the US. Read more
WTO NEWS
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The Caribbean Trade & Development Digest is a weekly trade news digest produced and 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 subscribe to our Blog below:
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