Welcome to our Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest covering the week of June 18-24, 2023! We are pleased to bring you the major trade and development news headlines and analysis from across the Caribbean Region and the world from the past week. We do hope you enjoy this week’s edition!
THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS!
There’s been much to follow during this past week so please forgive us if we missed some stuff! Chief of course was the Paris Summit for a New Financial Pact which took place this week in Paris from June 22-23 and where Barbados’ Prime Minister, the Honourable Mia Mottley was one of the leading voices calling for transformation of the global financial architecture to facilitate developing countries’ equitable access to climate finance. The Chair’s summary of the discussions may be accessed here. The proposed roadmap coming out of the discussions may be viewed here.
In the UK, there were events on National Windrush Day 2023 (June 22nd) in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush to the UK on June 22, 1948 carrying Caribbean migrants (then colonies of the UK) who were encouraged to migrate to the then Mother Country to help the latter’s rebuilding in the immediate aftermath of World War II.
Canada-CARICOM Foreign Ministers’ Group Meeting – Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and several CARICOM foreign affairs ministers and diplomats met on the sidelines of the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly in Washington. The communique from this meeting may be accessed here.
The Caribbean Development Bank held its 53rd annual meetings of the Board of Governors June 12-23, 2023 in St. Lucia under the theme Marshalling Finance for Development: Access to Adequate, Affordable Financing. The Africa Export-Import Bank (Afri-Exim Bank) respectively also held its 30th annual meetings this past week June 18-21.
The Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) held its June plenary meetings June 21-23, this week. Among Caribbean countries, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica remain among the countries on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring as of June 23, 2023 (aka FATF greylist). Read the other plenary outcomes here.
New on the Blog
This week on June 29, 2023 at 10:00 am – 1:00 pm (EST) I will be one of the panel moderators at the “Optimising the Caribbean-Canada Trade Relationship“. Register for this event via Eventbrite here.
I will also be the moderator at the Barbados Coalition of Services Industries (BCSI) Business Breakfast Forum on June 28, 2023.
REGIONAL NEWS
Canada and CARICOM pledge to strengthen existing relationship
CMC News: Canada and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries have reaffirmed the “enduring value of the deep and dynamic partnership” strengthening their commitment to sustainability, resilience, climate action, access to finance, regional security, and shared values. Read more
Chinese Premier holds talks with Barbados PM
China Daily: Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley, who is on an official visit to China, on Sunday in Beijing. Read more
Caricom says Guyana’s honey woes are not being ignored
Jamaica Observer: The Caribbean Community (Caricom) has sought to assure the producers of honey in Guyana that their concerns about the exportation of their product are not being ignored. Read more
Rum producers seek CARICOM’s help to expand to new markets
Loop News: Regional rum producers have called on CARICOM to facilitate their expansion into new non-traditional markets for premium rum exports. The call was issued during a meeting in Georgetown, Guyana on Wednesday with senior CARICOM officials. Read more
CARICOM deliberating on how ‘local content’ can be supported
News room guyana: The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is exploring how local content provisions, be it laws or policies, can be supported within the region in keeping with the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. Read more
Barbados PM wants closer ties between African Union, CARICOM
Barbados Today: Prime Minister Mia Mottley is calling for closer ties between the African Union and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in order to tackle a number of challenges that continue to plague both regions. Read more
Trade Board looking to identify and resolve Jamaica’s export issues
RJR: The Trade Board says it is looking to identify and resolve issues surrounding exports from Jamaica. Read more
Trade Board Limited to Establish ‘Export Academy’
JIS: The Trade Board Limited (TBL) has announced that plans are in place to establish an ‘Export Academy’ to help bolster Jamaica’s export capacity. The platform will be a free online service provided by the Government through the entity. Read more
Caribcan arrangement WTO Waiver extended to 2033
Newsday: Canada has got approval from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to extend the Caribbean-Canada trade agreement (Caribcan) until December 31, 2033. Read more
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Global trade growth returns but outlook for 2023 is poor
UNCTAD: Following two consecutive quarters of decline, global trade in goods and services rebounded between January and March 2023. But prospects for the rest of the year are bleak. Read more
Brazilian president calls for alternative to dollar in global trade
CGTN: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called for efforts to find an alternative currency to the U.S. dollar, to end the greenback’s dominance in global trade. Read more
Brazil says it cannot agree to EU’s proposal for Mercosur trade deal
Reuters: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday said the European Union’s latest proposal for a trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur made reaching an agreement impossible as it included a “threat” to Brazil. Read more
Kenya-EU trade deal: Why the East African Community was left out
BBC: Kenya’s President William Ruto hailed his country’s “remarkable partnership” with the European Union (EU) as the two sides inked a 25-year trade deal, but it has raised questions about East African unity. Read more
STRAIGHT FROM THE WTO!
NEW ON THE CTLD BLOG
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