Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Author: caribbeantradelaw

  • Building Climate Resilient Agriculture

    Building Climate Resilient Agriculture

    Sandiford Edwards, MA, MBA, ACCA

    Sandiford Edwards, MA, MBA, ACCA – Guest Contributor

    Agri-Sector Vulnerability

    There can be no denying that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a deleterious effect on livelihoods and economies around the world, with a precipitous decline in global travel, upending many traditional brick and mortar businesses and reorganising of many hospitality services. The Caribbean Region has not been exempted from the scourge of COVID-19 and the consequent economic fallout.

    Whilst international supply chains and connectivity (air and sea) remained relatively stable for agri-food products, local and regional producers were faced with the double burden of market interruptions, on the occasion of the imposition of ‘stay-at-home’ orders and excess supply for agri-food products primarily targeted for the hotel, restaurants and fast-food markets. This tested the resiliency of their enterprises and by extension the agri-food sector.  

    Overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, primary agri-food producers in many parts of the Region struggled with long term drought. The 12-month review (April 2019 to March 2020) according to the Caribbean Regional Climate Centre, indicated that conditions were severely to exceptionally dry[i]. In the absence of well-developed and implemented integrated water management plans and corresponding irrigation system, primary agri-food producers many of whom are small family farmers, reliant on rain fed agriculture were front and center, experiencing the excruciating pain of limited availability of water for their crops and livestock.

    The acute water stress finds genesis in the fact that Caribbean agriculture is highly seasonal being dependent on weather. Natural climate variability but more so climate change has altered the status quo making traditional agricultural methods less efficient.

    June 1st ushered in the 6-months long annual Atlantic hurricane season which according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Climate Prediction Center is expected to be an extremely busy season, “forecasting a likely range of 13 to 19 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher)”[ii].

    The unnerving prediction can potentially exacerbate the lingering effects of both the drought and the COVID-19 pandemic on the agri-food sector, exposing its fragile structure and huge vulnerability. Interestedly, the majority of the countries in the region have been ranked as medium – high on the classification of vulnerability to external shocks – inclusive of exposure to natural hazards and climate change[iii].

    Exposure to this exogenous threat is evident in the recurrent incidences of tropical cyclones of varying magnitude to befall the region over the last two decades, averaging once in less than every two years (Table 1).

    Table 1 – Weather Systems Impacting the Region from 2000 – 2019

    YearNameYear Name Year Name
    2000Keith2005Emily2015Joaquin
    2001Iris2005Wilma2016Matthew
    2002Lili2005Katrina2017Irma
    2003Isabel2007Dean2017Maria
    2004Ivan2014Gonzalo2019Dorian

    Additionally, over the last two decades, the Region has suffered approximately US $32 billion in damage and loss for which infrastructure, housing and agriculture were most pronounced[iv].

    Notably, examples of impact of tropical weather systems in the Region are: Hurricane Ivan in 2004, was estimated to have stripped over 91 percent of the forest land and watershed vegetation in Grenada and wiped out an entire years’ crop, destroying approximately 85 percent of nutmeg trees, Grenada’s main export crop[v]. In the case of Dominica, damage and loss to the agriculture was estimated at US$170 million from hurricane Maria[vi]. Thirdly, the Bahamas reportedly lost approximately 60,000 livestock with damage and loss to agriculture assessed to be upwards of us$ 80 million as a result of hurricane Dorian[vii].

    The question therefore, is whether the Region has learnt the lessons from previous catastrophic climatic events and has truthfully embarked on the journey to strengthen its agriculture resilience with a level of urgency. 

    Achieving Resilience

    Resilience personifies the concept of having an adequate policy-induced ability for an economy to withstand or recover from the effect of exogenous shocks[viii]. More broadly put, the level of resilience will be determined by how well the actions and interplay of the various systems (political, economic & societal) can safeguard the performance of the economy[ix]. Resilience is therefore, underpinned by robust institutional frameworks to dampen or render shocks negligible or the speed to which an economy can return and surpass normal productivity following shock events.

    Interestingly, vulnerability does not equate to inability to achieve resilience as seen in the “Singapore Paradox” which confirmed the paradigm that small countries with high economic vulnerability ratings can still be economically resilient and attain consistently high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates with a consummate elevated level of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita and high standard of living as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI).

    As governments seek to reopen borders aimed at boosting economic activities, they cannot afford to be blindsided by COVID-19, losing sight of the imperative of building the resilience of the agri-food sector to the potential wreckage that can arise on the occasion of climatic weather events.  

    Hope that the next few months will bring respite from any other exogenous shock might be misplaced as this year’s Atlantic hurricane season has already recorded two named storms. Evidence of COVID-19 and the impact of tropical weather systems on the region elucidates the rationale behind the need for governments to have a long term commitment to agri-food resilience building.

    Proactive steps are therefore needed to confront this looming challenge of the predictive above-average Atlantic hurricane season.

    Recommendations

    Having regard to the foregoing, the prevailing conditions around regional food and nutrition security and cognisant of the inexhaustible compendium of policy recommendations already available and intensely debated, I wish to highlight a few areas of consideration that I consider germane and an absolute imperative for building resilient agriculture.

    1. Hurricane Resistant Agriculture Technology – it will be foolhardy if the region continues to promote the use of greenhouse and other protective agriculture technology (livestock, crops & aquaculture) that are not technically designed to withstand hurricanes. The urgency to sustain livelihoods or even to build back after the impact of a climatic event should not be traded for inappropriate technology ill-suited for the regions challenges. According to the United States based National Institute or Building Sciences, every $1 spent on mitigation saves at least $6[x]. Transposing this conclusion without accounting for variables would imply that investment of $175 million in disaster mitigation and appropriate climate smart technology can yield over $1 billion in savings.
    • Policymakers should institute a well-coordinated and systematic integration of climate adaptation principles into agriculture and food and nutrition security development policies, plans, programmes, projects, budgets and processes. For example, the Caribbean Climate Risk and Adaptation Tool (CCORAL) should be a standard feature in the evaluation of the agriculture projects. The use of CCORAL should also be augmented with sub-sector and geographic considerations to ensure local relevance.  
    • Updating of national integrated water resources management strategies, enhancement of agriculture catchment storage capacities and aggression transition from a predominantly rain-fed agriculture approach to irrigated agriculture. Technical skills in the region should be enhanced for drip irrigation technologies with a mass proliferation of same among farming systems.

    Farmers should receive training in water conservation measures, especially in drought -impacted areas. Additionally, where countries have not yet introduce funding mechanisms for water resources management, they should commence budgetary allocations for implementation, monitoring and enforcement (especially within the upper watershed, i.e. sustainable use of forest resources and disposal of agricultural waste).

    • Mainstreaming of climate smart and regenerative agricultural techniques – this should no longer be a buzz phrase but ought to be diligently implemented noting its potential to achieve resilient agriculture impact, especially within vulnerable communities. Simple practices such as organic mulching, agro-forestry, housing animals in raised pens or high ground to combat flooding, proper storage practices for agriculture inputs, provision of shade and ample water for livestock to safeguard animal health and protect from heat-stroke should be common practice.

    Sandiford Ruel Edwards, MA, MBA, ACCA is a Development Finance Specialist with experience in many countries in the Region.

    The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the guest author and are not necessarily representative of those of the Caribbean Trade Law & Development Blog.

    [i] CariSAM Bulletin Vol 3 Issue 12 May, 2020, Caribbean Regional Climate Centre

    [ii] https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/busy-atlantic-hurricane-season-predicted-for-2020

    [iii] Ram, Justin; Cotton. J, Jason; Frederick, Raquel; and Elliot, Wayne (2019) Measuring Vulnerability: A multidimensional vulnerability Index for the Caribbean, Caribbean Development Bank Working Paper No. 2019 /01 https://www.caribank.org/sites/default/files/publication-resources/Measuring%20Vulnerability-A%20Multidimensional%20Vulnerability%20Index%20for%20the%20Caribbean.pdf.

    [iv] Source Caribbean Development Bank Estimates cited in Ram, Justin (2020) Resilience Impact Securities with Equity (RISE) — How to Finance and Democratize Resilience Building during and after the POST COVID-19 Era. https://medium.com/@justinram/resilience-impact-securities-with-equity-rise-how-to-finance-and-democratize-resilience-b8bd0290557a

    [v] Grenada:  A Nation Rebuilding an assessment of reconstruction and economic recovery one year after Hurricane Ivan, (2005) The World Bank

    [vi] Antoine, Patrick (2018) Dominica, A Glo9bal Centre for Agriculture Resilience Among SIDS

    [vii] http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/may/26/bahamas-lost-60000-livestock-to-dorian

    [viii] Lino et al, (2008). Economic Vulnerability & Resilience. United Nations University

    [ix] Brinkmann, Henrick, (2017). Economic Resilience. A new Concept for Policy Making?

    [x] https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/01/11/every-$1-invested-in-disaster-mitigation-saves-$6

  • Agriculture Labour: Repositioning Regional Agriculture

    Agriculture Labour: Repositioning Regional Agriculture

    Sandiford Edwards, MA, MBA, ACCA

    Sandiford Edwards, MA, MBA, ACCA – Guest Contributor

    Introduction

    In the context of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Caribbean countries, historically, the agriculture sector provided the single most important platform for employment, income generation and food security, and is presently still capable of driving poverty reduction especially in rural areas; through increased productivity, value addition and links to other sectors inclusive of tourism.[1]

    ‘Agriculture Employment’ or ‘Agriculture Labour’ in its traditional view has been defined as the ‘involvement of any person in connection with cultivating the soil, or with raising, harvesting any agricultural or horticultural commodity, management of livestock, bees, poultry’[2] etc. In today’s world, cognisant of advancement in cultivation and harvesting technologies, processing innovations and the proliferation of the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data and the consequent impact on the agriculture sector, it is prudent to recognise that a modern and more accurate definition of agriculture labour should include professional careers along the entire agri-food value chain, covering disciplines ranging from scientist, greenhouse growing specialist, agronomist, inter alia.

    Current Agriculture Challenges

    CARICOM’s agriculture is at a critical juncture to meet the food demands and nutritional requirements of the Region, influenced by the countless incidences of agricultural output shocks emanating from climate change impacts, natural disasters, prevalence of pest and diseases, increasing food loss and food waste and increased competition for arable lands by other sectors including housing. Food systems reorientation including the supply of agriculture labour is therefore mandatory in repositioning CARICOMs agriculture in its quest to achieve improved food security.

     ‘In 2000, the CARICOM Region had an agri-food trade surplus of US $20 million or 2%. Over the last eighteen years, the regional agri-food landscape has undergone significant transformation having agri-food imports of US $3.7 billion (2018) and an annual agri-food trade deficit of just above US $2.2 billion[3].

    Between the periods 2016 to 2018, CARICOM’s total agriculture export growth in value was significantly immaterial when compared to its imports of over US$200 million for the same period (figure 1). CARICOM’s protracted trade deficit places pressure on fiscal positions of Member States and other macro-economic indicators including the ability of the Region to address its high level of unemployment especially among the youthful population and the growing health and economic cost visited to the region by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

    Figure 1 – Total Agriculture Trade

    Source: Author’s compilation

    In this regard, the improved recognition of agriculture labour within the Caribbean Community, can directly strengthen the Region’s food security and nutritional adequacy while it is also aptly positioned to: catalyse greater intra-regional travel; reduce community wide unemployment; and improve the cultural and overall regional integration process. Early harvest evidence of the regional agriculture integration process is noticeable with the agreement struck between Suriname and Barbados for the Black Belly Sheep project[4].

    International Market for Caribbean Agricultural Workers

    Globally, there appears to be a snowballing call for agriculture workers with heightened demand in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. Evidence of the demand for agriculture workers was confirmed through an article where the suggestion was made for British nationals who have been furloughed to get involved in harvesting crops[5].

    The integration of the Caribbean into the world economy was noted to have commenced during the colonial era when the production of agricultural commodities required the exportation of labour from the metropole (mainly English working class) to the colony, to work on plantations to produce predominantly cash crops and other raw materials for export. The sugar revolution which ensued, resulted in the mass importation of African slaves to work on plantations. Following the abolition of slavery and prevailing foreign domination of the ownership of capital and other factors of production except labour, created an excess supply of semi and unskilled labour, which, if left un-utilised could have created instability and major upheavals in the colonies.

    The Region therefore began exporting labour en masse, with the exodus of migrant workers heading to the Panama Canal, the gold fields of Venezuela, banana plantations in Central America and the H-2 Programme of the United States.  

    More recently, the Commonwealth Caribbean Agricultural Workers Program (CCAWP) in Canada, that hires approximately 25,000 foreign agriculture labourer spread over 200 farms as part of a US$100 billion industry[6], has become the temporary worker programme of choice for Caribbean Agriculture Workers. The CCAWP has been placed centre stage in the Region, receiving greater prominence as global supply chains faced disruption, and the stability of food supplies threatened by ‘stay at home’ orders imposed by countries to address the threat posed by COVID-19 became acute.

    Whilst Mexico and Central America dominate the US H-2A Program[7], a number of CARICOM Member States from Jamaica (the first country to engage in the migration programme in 1966) in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south are participants in the CCAWP. These economies benefit from salaries repatriated by the emigrant workers.

    Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and Free Movement of Labour

    Article 45 – Movement of Community Nationals provides the basis in Treaty where ‘Member States commit themselves to the goal of free movement of their nationals within the Community’.

    Furthermore, in Article 46, Member States have agreed, and undertake as a first step towards achieving the goal set out in Article 45, to accord to the following categories of Community nationals the right to seek employment in their jurisdictions: university graduates, media workers, sportspersons, artistes and musicians.

    Having regard to the above, and the huge vulnerability to Regional food security and nutritional adequacy, high levels of unemployment, inter alia, on the occasion of the 18th Special Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government (HOG) of CARICOM[8], HOG have agreed to include ‘Agricultural Workers among the categories of skilled nationals who are entitled to move freely and seek employment within the Community’.

    This declaration by Heads of Government provided the legal basis for the creation of the necessary infrastructure, administrative and enabling environment for the Region to benefit from the vast pool of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour available for the competitive development of its agri-food sector.

    At present, it is not yet clear whether or not the free movement regime for Agriculture Labour has become operational and if in the affirmative, the number of people who have already taken advantage of the Treaty’s provision.

    The discussion on creating a regional bread basket and having persons who are in the industry travel to provide the majority of the farm workers holds promise. The CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), in a presentation to HOG in February 2020, articulated the benefits of the Region in focussing on the development of regional ‘agri-food corridors’ (RAC) within the CSME, and the ability of RACs to assist in reducing transactions, transport and logistics costs. The presentation further suggested that the RACs can support overriding non-tariff barriers (NTB), and can also be used to develop ‘clusters’ or investment poles that create the business to business and business to customer linkages, which is the oxygen for sustained growth and development of agri-food ventures in the CSME, ultimately yielding greater employment.

    A key feature of the RAC is premised on high volume production of selective agri-food products (corn, soy, cassava, livestock) to benefit from economies of scale. Such a philosophy will naturally lend itself to countries with larger land masses such as Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Suriname. CARICOM nationals from other Member States can then ultimately travel to these countries as an initial pilot to operationalise the Free Movement Regime for Agricultural workers. 

    Conclusion

    There is no denying that the current image of regional agriculture is one that is cloaked with the stigma of being pro-poor and dominated by the uneducated or citizens who are generally on the margins of society. Drawing from the parallels of the CCWAP, repositioning regional agriculture can provide the citizens of the region with improved consistency of income that can be similarly repatriated to their home states to meet the needs of their families.

    Simultaneously, other direct benefits that can be accrued can range from the increase in intra-regional travel, greater consumption of regionally produced food, increased cultural exchanges and deepening of the CARICOM spirit of ‘oneness’.

    To this end, regional leaders, the private sector, development partners, and the wider NGO community should collectively agree on a roadmap to aggressively rebrand the image of agriculture to include the modern availability of high-tech jobs to encourage greater youth involvement. Only with additional sector involvement and investment will the region be able to adopt and adapt the plethora of innovative agriculture technology that supports increased productively and profitability, necessary elements for the creation of a virtuous cycle.

    Sandiford Edwards, MA, MBA, ACCA is a Development Finance Specialist with experience in many countries in the Region.

    [1] https://www.cgap.org/blog/youth-agriculture-new-generation-leverages-technology

    [2] Hemant Singh, https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/overview-of-agricultural-labour-1446805160-1

    [3] Patrick et al, 2020, Reducing CARICOM’s Agri-Food Imports: Opportunities for CPSO Participation, Econotech Limited.

    [4] https://www.barbadosadvocate.com/news/b’dos-partner-suriname-black-belly-sheep-operation

    [5] https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/coronavirus-furlough-workers-urged-to-lend-a-hand-with-uk-harvest/ar-BB14jxCB?ocid=spartanntp

    [6] Budworth et al, 2017 Report on the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program: Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture Delegation in Canada.

    [7] https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor/

    [8] https://today.caricom.org/2018/12/04/st-anns-declaration-on-csme/

  • Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – May 10 – 16, 2020

    Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – May 10 – 16, 2020

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of May10-16, 2020! 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 big news reverberating across the trade world this week was that WTO’s DG Roberto Azevedo has this week announced he will step down on August 31, 2020, a year earlier than when his second term is due to expire in 2021. Read here.

    This week’s article by guest contributor Renaldo Weekes entitled “COVID-19: The Push to Conflict” looks at the geopolitical dynamics around the COVID-19 pandemic. Have a read here.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    CARICOM dealing with COVID Repercussions

    CARICOM: Since March 11, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) moved from preparation to response in association with the Caribbean Regional Public Health Agency (CRPHA) supported by the WHO and its regional office, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), headquartered in Washington DC. Read more

    Caricom states hope to start intra-regional travel by June

    Nation News: Member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) plan on reopening borders to intra-regional travel in the first instance, hopefully by next month. Read more

    Private Sector Investment key in Economic Recovery

    Barbados Advocate: The next ten years will be critical for the Caribbean, not just because of the period that we are currently engaged in on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, but because it will define what the Caribbean will look like, in terms of investment going forward. Read more

    Cut passenger taxes on air travel to compete, IATA tells Caribbean governments

    Dominican Today: Describing travel as being in a “free fall” and the airline industry as being “bare bones” due to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19), the trade association for the world’s airlines is advising Caribbean governments to cut passenger taxes if they wish to be competitive when service is restored. Read more

    ECLAC: Urgent action needed to reach UN 2030 goals

    Nation News: The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, wants urgent attention paid to Caribbean countries in order for them to achieve the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    Hawley presses for vote to withdraw U.S. from the WTO

    Politico: President Donald Trump has periodically threatened to withdraw from the WTO but has never acted on the impulse. Read more

    Coronavirus will reverse globalization and create regional supply chains, economists predict

    CNBC: The coronavirus crisis will fundamentally reshape global trade as companies look to reduce their dependence on Chinese manufacturing, economists have predicted. Read more

    Tracking Trade During the COVID-19 Pandemic

    IMF: With the current fast-changing developments, policy makers need to know what is happening to the economy in real time, but they often must settle for data telling them what happened many weeks ago. And international trade, which links countries through a complex web of supply chains, is an area where timely information is especially valuable from a global perspective. Read more

    Covid-19’s blow to world trade is a heavy one

    The Economist: Covid-19’s blow to world trade is a heavy one and pre-existing conditions seem to worsen the prognosis. Read more

    U.K. Cabinet Backs Tough Brexit Line in Talks on EU Trade

    BNN Bloomberg: The U.K. doubled down on its Brexit red lines, refusing to compromise in talks over its future trade partnership with the European Union. Read more

    Australia-China trade tensions raise fears over future of agricultural exports

    The Guardian: National Farmers’ Federation says dispute needs to be resolved as Australian ministers refuse to budge on demand for Covid-19 origins inquiry. Read more

    Global trade to fall by record 27% due to Covid-19, says UN

    The Guardian: Data reveals pandemic has caused severe decline in supply and demand for products. Read more

    STRAIGHT FROM THE WTO

    NEW ON THE CTLD BLOG

    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:

  • COVID-19: The Push to Conflict

    COVID-19: The Push to Conflict

    Renaldo Weekes, Guest Contributor

    Renaldo Weekes

    The novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a common threat that has united the world in unprecedented ways. As the pandemic rages on, however, some are getting anxious and want answers. United States (US) officials have accused China of mismanaging the coronavirus response and allege that it originated in a Chinese lab. China responded with allegations that the US military planted the virus in Wuhan. 

    The possibility for escalation is nigh as US President Donald Trump reportedly suggested that China may be punished for its alleged impropriety through new tariffs, sanctions and the lifting of sovereign immunity. As the US seeks to punish China, one wonders what the effects may be on the wider world.

    The Global Economy

    The tariffs being floated by the Trump administration as possible punishments will stifle the global economy since, being the world’s two largest economies, the US and China are very much intertwined in the global economy. Consideration must also be given to how China will retaliate to the tariffs.

    Tariffs, essentially being a tax on imported goods, will make goods more expensive at a time when many businesses and consumers cannot absorb such a cost. What little spending power exists will diminish, further pushing the economy downward. The global economy’s recovery rate will be restricted as supply chains will slowly regain traction amidst low numbers of buyers and sellers. Shocks will hit small open economies especially hard as they greatly depend on foreign production that travels through the US. It is still left to be seen if the US will follow through with such plans however.

    Sanctions have more versatility in the sense that they can be applied to certain businesses or individuals within the US banking system. This is effective because the US has a long reach in the world’s financial system. However, depending on where those sanctions are applied, there could be some disruption in the global supply chain because, as mentioned earlier, China is intertwined in the global system. Again, small open economies that regularly do business with China will be in trouble.

    The lifting of state sovereign immunity allows American citizens and the American Government to sue China for COVID-related issues. Removal of sovereign immunity may have at least two effects. First, it allows the US wants to fight China with its own rules by allowing lawsuits. Secondly, if state-owned or state-related Chinese businesses in US jurisdictions are entangled in lawsuits, China will have to decide if staying in the US is worth the retaliatory lawsuits or risk relocation which may cause disruptions in supply chains.

    Political

    Considering the implications of this clash to the wider world, both parties have been working to push their narrative to their partners for support. This puts a number of countries with mutual relationships in an awkward position as they must now play chess with their words and actions which, as seen through Australia and the European Union (EU), is quite difficult. 

    Australia has, just like the US, called for an investigation into the virus’s origins but has stopped short of saying the virus came from a lab. To China, not overtly opposing those claims is implicit support of the US’ claims and in response, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye suggested a possible shift in trade relations between the two countries. Acting on those words, China has suspended beef imports from Australia. This underscores China’s willingness to use its economic might against countries politically opposed to it. Such tactics may hurt Australia as China accounts for 36 percent of Australia’s total annual exports. Though both countries claim that the issue is separate from the pandemic, it is hard to defend that point considering the veiled threat laid by the Chinese ambassador. One must ask whether it is possible to separate the two incidents or if it would have happened but for the call for an investigation.

    The EU has been under the spotlight for editing a report related to disinformation campaigns by China to appease China and for allowing China to censor an opinion piece written by the EU’s ambassador to China. The EU’s move is seen as bending more toward China by editing its report and allowing China to censor its piece. Added to this is reporting that the European External Action Service (EEAS), responsible for the bloc’s foreign policy, has been rife with problems related to each EU member state wanting to follow its own agenda. This suggests no real coordinated effort toward handling the issue and a weakening of the EU’s position as this may, theoretically, give China an opening to further cement this divide.

    Despite what may appear to be the case, EU member states have stood up to China. It is reported that China attempted to encourage German Government officials to make positive spins on how it has been handling the virus but it was quickly shot down. France hastily summoned its Chinese ambassador when a Chinese diplomat wrote a piece criticising Western countries on their treatment of the elderly. President of France Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel have both called for investigations into the origins of the virus but, similar to Australia, have not claimed that the virus came from a lab. Joined with that is the EU’s support of the US’ push for an investigation into the coronavirus’s origins at the WHO general assembly. These examples show that the EU is not necessarily bowing to China. Considering the historically friendly relationship between the two, the EU would not have the same motivation as the US to immediately dismiss China.

    Even the World Health Organisation (WHO)?

    The WHO itself has been dragged into the fray by the US as the Washington has suspended its WHO funding due to accusations that that UN agency facilitated China’s hiding of coronavirus statistics. Such an accusation suggests that the WHO abdicated its duty in order to appease China. The US’ actions also serve to weaken the WHO’s ability to help the world at large; more so those who cannot help themselves. Allowing a spat to spill over into the UN agency for health during a pandemic is seen by many critics as a way for the Trump administration to deflect any blame it is receiving for its handling of the virus domestically; especially since a Presidential election is due this November.

    Conclusion

    COVID-19 has led to a pandemic that took the world by surprise. Most people did not think that a virus in China would spread to the world. Nevertheless it has and people’s magnanimity has shown through like never before. However, it has devolved into a blame game between the world’s most powerful countries about how the pandemic started, capturing many other countries in the fray. But for the pandemic, would the US and China be in this situation? Probably not, but here we are. The only real way for this situation to stop is if the US recants or if China admits fault. At this point, neither seems likely. One can only hope that the war of words between the two countries does not escalate to a point of no return that drags the rest of the world down as a result.

    Renaldo Weekes is a holder of a BSc. (Sociology and Law) who observes international affairs from his humble, small island home. He has keen interest in how countries try to maneuver across the international political and legal stage.