Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Category: Trade

  • Barbados announces Post-COVID-19 Foreign Policy and Trade Strategy

    Barbados announces Post-COVID-19 Foreign Policy and Trade Strategy

    Alicia Nicholls

    Barbados will make expanding trade levels and deepening cooperation with both traditional and non-traditional partners central planks of its post-COVID-19 economic recovery strategy. These goals were announced as part of a suite of foreign policy and foreign trade initiatives elaborated by Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Senator Dr. The Hon. Jerome Walcott in a COVID-19 press briefing held on Saturday, March 13, 2021.

    Among these new initiatives is the opening of new diplomatic missions, including in Ghana, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. The Kenya mission, which will be a joint Caricom mission, will be accredited to the United Nations office in Kenya and to other East African countries.

    Commercial diplomacy will be an important tool in the Government’s tool kit with the announcement of the appointment of a Commercial and Cultural Officer for the new High Commission in Ghana and a Diaspora Officer for the UK mission. The Minister also noted that commercial attaches will be deployed in other missions over time.

    The new strategy will see greater use of digital technologies in Barbados’ diplomatic engagement efforts and greater focus on leveraging the Barbados diaspora, particularly for harnessing investment, entrepreneurship and philanthropy.

    Barbados will be deepening its relationships with traditional partners such as other CARICOM Member States, the US and Europe. There will be a focus as well on developing closer relationships with non-traditional partners in the EU.

    South-South cooperation will continue to be a priority for Barbados as it cultivates relationships with newer partners such as China and countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Barbados will also deploy a Latin America strategy and will leverage its Panama Embassy.

    Additionally, Barbados will continue to promote the principles of multilateralism, diplomacy and cooperation. It will work with all interested partners, particularly on issues of deep development significance to the island and region such as climate change, debt and the development of a multidimensional vulnerability index for determining eligibility for concessional aid and other development assistance.

    Barbados’ focus on trade as part of its recovery efforts is a welcomed and not surprising step. Barbados is a small open economy highly dependent on the import of products and running continuous trade deficits.

    The Covid-19 shock was a body blow to an economy that is already undergoing a homegrown IMF-sanctioned economic recovery and transformation programme but has so far been performing well according to the programme targets. The Covid-19 induced sudden drop in tourist arrivals was a significant factor in the economy’s near 18% contraction in 2020, according to the Central Bank of Barbados Review of the Barbados Economy for 2020. While tourism is unlikely to be replaced as the country’s main foreign exchange earner anytime soon, what is indeed needed is the expansion of exports in other sectors, particularly high-value added sectors.

    The focus on trade expansion however must be moored to a coherent and well-articulated development strategy if it is to achieve the objective of contributing to a resilient, inclusive and sustainable post-Covid-19 recovery. It must be supported by and linked to equally coherent industrial and investment policies. After all, we do not seek to increase trade just for its sake but with the aim of promoting development through greater job creation, foreign exchange inflows, promotion of economic activity and poverty alleviation.

    I personally eagerly look forward to the implementation of these initiatives. I also hope there will be data available so evidence-based monitoring and evaluation of the policies can be done to ascertain their efficacy.

    For further information, please see this press release and a link to the recorded statement by Minister Walcott on the Barbados Government Information Service website here.

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B is an international trade and development specialist. Read more of her commentaries here or follow her on Twitter @licylaw. All views expressed herein are her personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of any institution or entity with which she may from time to time be affiliated.

  • Afronomicslaw Symposium: Prospects for Deepening Africa-Caribbean Economic Relations – Call for Blogs

    Afronomicslaw Symposium: Prospects for Deepening Africa-Caribbean Economic Relations – Call for Blogs

    Total trade volumes between African and Caribbean countries remain small, but the potential and opportunities for enhancing trade, investment and economic cooperation between these two regions are encouraging based on shared historical and cultural ties. To this end, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has announced steps to formalize relations with the African Union (AU).Several CARICOM countries have also sought to deepen bilateral ties with individual African countries. Africa-Caribbean Economic Relations and cooperation are even more critical now as countries on both sides of the Atlantic aim to kickstart economic recovery following the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 shock. Indeed, vaccine cooperation became another form of Africa-Caribbean cooperation when the AU offered CARICOM access to some of the approved vaccines from a shipment it was receiving.

    Given the limited but promising trade and investment relationship between both regions, there is a dearth of scholarly analysis on the Africa-Caribbean economic relationship. This Symposium aims to address this gap in international economic relations scholarship through considered analytical pieces exploring aspects of this understudied relationship.

    We invite authors to submit contributions which critically analyze and examine this relationship from a variety of perspectives, including but not limited to:

    • Geo-political and economic ties (both historical and present) between these two regions; 
    • The future of trade and investment relations between both regions in light of WTO-plus mega-regional trade agreements popping up;
    • EU-ACP relations e.g. EU-EPAs and issues relating to fragmentation and dilution of negotiating positions by African and Caribbean countries;
    • The impact of COVID-19 on the vulnerability of trade and investment regimes in both regions;
    • Comparative perspectives from both regions on the role of education in the advancement of critical thought in international economic relations scholarship;
    • Comparative perspectives from both regions on the regulation of digital trade/e-commerce;
    • Africa-Caribbean collaboration in multilateral fora, e.g., WTO, ACP, Commonwealth, UNCTAD; •
    • Comparative perspectives from both regions on approaches to cooperation and regional integration; 
    • Comparative perspectives from both regions on Sustainable Development, e.g., approaches to mainstreaming regulation of renewable energy, the green and blue economy into trade and investment regimes;
    • Air Connectivity/Tourism/Travel Trade, e.g., prospects for promoting leisure and business travel between CARICOM and African countries;
    • Cultural Industries collaboration;
    • Role of the private sector in shaping future Africa-Caribbean trade and investment relations;
    • Investment relations, e.g., opportunities for Africa-Caribbean FDI, cooperation on investment rule-making reform.

    Submission Guidelines:

    Essays that are submitted as part of this symposium must be analytical and original. Authors must comply with the Afronomicslaw.org blog submission guidelines accessible here. Blogs are to be submitted to afronomicslaw@gmail.com with the title ‘African-Caribbean Relations Blog Submission’.

    Deadline for Submission of Essays:

    May 14, 2021.

    Inquiries or clarifications relating to this call should be directed to Ohio Omiunu (ohio.omiunu@dmu.ac.uk) and Alicia Nicholls (alicia.nicholls@cavehill.uwi.edu)

  • Afronomicslaw Call for Blogs: African-Asian Relations: Fostering Trade and Investment in Times of Crisis

    Afronomicslaw Call for Blogs: African-Asian Relations: Fostering Trade and Investment in Times of Crisis

    By:

    A core legacy of the New International Economic Order of the 1970s is the rise of the South-South economic cooperation. Since 1980, trade and investment relations between African and Asian states have been growing ever closer. Indeed, the unique ways in which African-Asian economic cooperation manifests has been a defining feature of Africa’s international economic relations since the end of decolonization.

    While the analysis of Sino-African and Indo-African relations have been at the forefront of scholarly analysis for understandable reasons, the economic relations of African states go beyond the dominant actors in the Asian region.

    African-Asian economic relations have evolved considerably over time, ‘with technical cooperation growing not only in terms of trade volumes and the value of financial assistance and investment flows but also in terms of the geographic reach of countries working together.’ Despite the rise of African-Asian cooperation in the last four decades, African states play a marginal role in the global international economic order producing distinct schools of thought. While the first school of thought, the critiques, argue that Asian-African economic cooperation is immersed in power relations that are akin to that of the West; others embrace the relations for the investment and economic growth opportunities that they create.

    We invite authors to author blogs that critically examine the intersection of trade, development, and investment in African-Asian economic relations. We are particularly keen to receive blogs that focus on, but are not limited to:

    • historical and contemporary accounts of forms of governance and regulation in African-Asian trade and investment relations;
    • the impact of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) in African-Asian relations;
    • mechanisms for dispute settlement in trade and investment disputes arising between African and Asian countries;
    • the significance and impact of the Belt and Road Initiative from economic, social, cultural and environmental perspectives;
    • sustainable development in African-Asian trade and investment agreements;
    • the role of inter-national governance in shaping development strategies across African and Asian countries;
    • the role of private actors in shaping and influencing governance in bilateral and regional agreements;
    • corporate social responsibility;
    • investment facilitation and trade facilitation.

    Submission Guidelines:

    Essays that are submitted as part of this symposium must be analytical and original. Authors must comply with the Afronomicslaw.org blog submission guidelines accessible here. Blogs are to be submitted to afronomicslaw@gmail.com with the title ‘African-Asian Relations Blog Submission’.

    Deadline:

    April 30th, 2021.

    Inquiries or clarifications relating to this call should be directed to Olabisi Akinkugbe (Olabisi.akinkugbe@dal.ca) and Clair Gammage (c.gammage@bristol.ac.uk)

    See more at the AfronomicsLaw Blog here.

    Image by bricketh from Pixabay

  • Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – February 22 – 28, 2021

    Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – February 22 – 28, 2021

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest for the week of February 22-28, 2021! We apologise for the delay in this week’s edition and 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.

    THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    The newly published UN Climate Change’s Synthesis Report on countries’ new or updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) has found that the level of ambition contained in these reports is not enough to meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets. Read the report here.

    US President Joe Biden’s pick for United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai had her Senate confirmation hearing on February 25. Read Mrs. Tai’s opening statement here. The Senate will vote on whether to confirm her later this coming week.

    India and South Africa circulated a paper questioning the legal status of the WTO’s Joint Statement Initiatives and their negotiated outcomes. The paper may be accessed here.

    On February 24-25, 2021, the Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held its 32nd Intersessional Meeting. COVID-19 and access to vaccines were among a suite of issues discussed. Read the full communique here.

    Current CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Dr. the Hon. Keith Rowley delivered a statement on ‘Re-Setting US-Caribbean Relations’ at the Atlantic Council’s event on February 26, 2021. Read the statement here.

    On March 1, the new WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala officially takes office.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    CDB projects regional economic growth of 3.8% in 2021

    CDB: After an extremely difficult year in which the economies of its 19 Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) contracted by 12.8% on average due to the onset of Covid-19, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is projecting an average gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.8% in 2021. However, this projection, made in Part 1 of CDB’s Regional Report: 2020 Review and 2021 Outlook, released today, is clouded by the ongoing uncertainty, caused by the global pandemic. Read more

    Does Washington DC think about the Caribbean?

    In this episode of the ‘China in the Caribbean’ podcast, the host Rasheed Griffith interviews Wazim Mowla, a Program Assistant at the Atlantic Council Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center Caribbean Initiative. Listen to the episode here.

    CARIFORUM Rum Producers and French Rum Group Sign Historic Accord

    Barbados Today: Caribbean rum producers are joining forces with French group CIRT-DOM, to get the best deal for their exports into major markets, particularly the European Union. Read more

    Critical CSME Issues must be addressed and resolved urgently, say CARICOM leaders

    Barbados Advocate: Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have expressed continuing concern about the progress made and the outstanding actions still required to advance implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), particularly to support economic recovery in the face of the debilitating impact of COVID-19. Read more

    Regional ministerial task force will help push agri. development within CARICOM – President Ali

    Newsroom: President Irfaan Ali on Thursday disclosed that CARICOM has prioritised agriculture and food security and has created a pathway to enhance their overall development in the region. Read more

    St Vincent PM criticises EU blacklisting of Dominica amid COVID-19 pandemic

    Jamaica Gleaner: Outgoing CARICOM Chairman Dr Ralph Gonsalves on Wednesday called for regional leaders to speak out against the “awful” decision by the European Union (EU) to blacklist Dominica as a non-cooperative jurisdiction for tax purposes, particularly during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

    CARICOM chairman: It’s time for a ‘reset’ in US-Caribbean relations

    The Atlanticist: The world’s inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is threatening the Caribbean’s economic recovery, and climate change is quickly becoming an “existential threat” to all low-lying island states, warns Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley. Read more

    CAL and ExporTT partner to boost local exports

    TT Newsday: Caribbean Airlines Cargo has partnered with ExporTT to better connect Trinidad and Tobago businesses to regional and international markets in an effort to boost the country’s economic recovery following covid19. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    USTR nominee Tai says U.S. can help craft new trade rules in ‘grey areas’ to hold China accountable

    Reuters: Katherine Tai, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next U.S. Trade Representative, said on Thursday that the United States can work with other countries to craft new trade rules in “grey areas” to hold China accountable. Read more

    “Climate Commitments Not On Track to Meet Paris Agreement Goals” as NDC Synthesis Report is Published

    UN: UN Climate Change today published a synthesis of climate action ambition as contained in countries’ new or updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), indicating that nations must redouble their climate efforts if they are to reach the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rise by 2C—ideally 1.5C—by the end of the century. Read more

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: what are the 4 main challenges facing the new WTO director general?

    South China Morning Post: The coronavirus pandemic, log-jammed trade talks and a long-delayed meeting of member states are just a few of the crises awaiting Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as she takes the helm of the World Trade Organization (WTO) next month. Read more

    US Secretary of State Blinken tours Canada and Mexico ‘virtually’

    Al Jazeera: On his first trip ‘abroad’ Blinken met Canadian and Mexican about immigration, trade and economic issues. Read more

    Northern Ireland’s first minister ups ante in UK-EU trade dispute

    Reuters: Northern Ireland’s first minister upped the ante on Wednesday in a dispute between the UK and the European Union over trade with the province, calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “step up and protect the United Kingdom”. Read more

    EU puts WTO at centre of greener trade reform push

    Reuters: The European Union put reform of the World Trade Organization at the heart of its trade strategy for the next decade on Thursday, saying global rules on commerce must be greener, take more account of state subsidies and be enforced. Read more

    Post-Brexit UK trade strategy needs to engage China

    East Asia Forum: The United Kingdom’s trading aspirations in Asia will not negate its dependence on the European Union, nor will they unwind the dominant economic role of China in its neighbourhood. UK trade with Asia post-Brexit needs to be accompanied by efforts to engage Beijing in the strengthening of trade rules and disciplines. Read more

    UK exporters’ use of Singapore as ASEAN’s supply chain gateway boosted by new bilateral trade agreement

    ASEAN Briefing: There was much controversy, before and after the United Kingdom’s (UK) Brexit from the European Union (EU), in talk of it adopting a free trade and manufacturing model similar to Singapore’s. The idea was dubbed as “Singapore-on-Thames” by the British media. Read more

    India, Mauritius sign economic partnership deal

    The Telegraph Online: The CECPA would provide a gateway to the markets of the African continent as Mauritius has several pacts with them. Read more

    Post-Brexit regulatory changes for the City could free up £95bn, says study

    City AM: The UK could free up £95bn for City insurance firms to reinvestment into the economy if the Treasury waters down the EU’s Solvency II regulations post-Brexit, according to a new study. Read more

    UK-Japan trade deal settled post-Brexit nerves, says Honda

    City AM: The UK’s trade deal with Japan helped lead to a smoother Brexit transition for Honda this year and ensured greater confidence, according to one of the carmakers’ European bosses. Read more

    New UK-Kenya trade deal to be extended to all of East Africa after threats not to ratify

    City AM: The recently signed trade deal between the UK and Kenya will be extended to Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania, according to multiple media reports in Kenya. Read more

    South Africa’s women’s minister seeks voice for women in AfCFTA

    Africa News: South Africa’s Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, today called for women’s voices to be heard in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. Read more

    AfCFTA to reduce illegal gold mining in Nigeria – Minister of Mines

    Nairametrics: The Minister of Mines and Steel says that illegal gold mining would be stemmed by the implementation of AfCFTA. Read more

    AFCFTA opens up scope for SA SMMEs

    IOL: President Cyril Ramaphosa said that SA SMMEs can penetrate other markets through the implementation of the of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 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: