Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Category: Trade

  • 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:

  • The EU’s Updated Draft AML/CFT List of High Risk Third Jurisdictions ‘Take Two’: A Critique

    The EU’s Updated Draft AML/CFT List of High Risk Third Jurisdictions ‘Take Two’: A Critique

    Alicia Nicholls

    In the midst of the human and economic challenges wrought by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, another threat looms for three Caribbean countries. The European Commission (the Commission) last week released its draft updated List of High Risk Third Jurisdictions which have strategic deficiencies in their Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes that pose significant threats to the financial system of the 27-nation bloc. Barbados and Jamaica now join The Bahamas on the updated draft EU list.

    Readers would recall that the Commission’s previous draft list of February 13, 2019 was ultimately rejected by the Council of the EU on March 5, 2019, sending the Commission back to the drawing board. Unfortunately, the Commission’s release of the revised draft list has occurred in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic – widely acknowledged to be the worst economic shock to hit the global economy, including the economies of those Caribbean countries listed.

    While the draft list still requires European Parliament and Council approval, and is set to apply only from October 1 2020, mere inclusion on such a list could still present reputational risks and other financial implications for those countries listed, particularly for Barbados and The Bahamas which are International Financial Centres (IFCs). This article briefly looks at the implications of the updated list for the countries named and possible next steps.

    What is the EU’s AML/CFT List of High Risk Third Countries?

    The EU’s draft AML/CFT List of High Risk Third Countries is completely distinct from its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. Indeed, this draft list forms part of a suite of measures proposed by the European Commission designed “to further strengthen the EU’s framework to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing”. The EU’s stricter approach to AML/CFT supervision was prompted, in particular, by a number of high-profile money laundering scandals involving European banks over the past few years. The EU has also this week proposed the creation of a Pan-European AML/CFT authority.

    However, despite these threats in its own backyard, the EU has chosen to focus a good part of its attention on purported AML/CFT risks posed by third States. According to the EU’s website, the list “aims to address risks to the EU’s financial system caused by third countries with deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regimes”. The first EU AML/CFT list of high risk third jurisdictions was drawn up in 2016 based on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) lists and has been updated regularly by subsequent delegated regulations. In 2017, the EU commenced working on its own methodology for identifying third jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes. This new EU methodology, which only uses the FATF lists as a starting point, was adopted in 2018. The now rejected February 13, 2019 list is the first to be drawn up according to this new methodology which was again revised in May 2020.

    Under the EU’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD), banks and other ‘obliged entities’ in the EU are required to apply enhanced customer due diligence (ECDD) on transactions and business relationships involving those countries listed as high-risk third countries. In other words, transactions originating from or going to those countries will be subject to enhanced scrutiny, which could mean longer wait times for completion and more frequent risk assessment reviews of the relationship.

    Who is included in the updated draft list?

    The EU in its methodology for identifying high risk jurisdictions, indicated that its proposed AML/CFT blacklist would use the FATF lists as its starting point. As such, the Bahamas, which is on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring (loosely referred to as the ‘grey list), remains on the updated Commission list. Barbados and Jamaica, which were added to the FATF grey list of February 21, 2020, were added to the new draft EU AML/CFT List of High Risk Third Jurisdictions. Like the other countries on the FATF grey list, The Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica were identified as having strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing but have undertaken a high-level political commitment to implement a FATF-agreed action plan to address these deficiencies.

    The other countries included on the EU’s updated draft list are Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar/Burma, Nicaragua, Panama and Zimbabwe, which are also on the FATF grey list of February 2020. However, the draft list does not include Iceland, a non-EU Member Country but part of the European Economic Area, which was also added to the FATF’s grey list.

    Issues with the List

    First, it is unfortunate that the European Commission would release this updated list while these countries’ economies are already suffering the harsh impact from the COVID-19 pandemic and could be further impacted by the reputational fall-out from this unilateral action. Indeed, although this measure is not supposed to take effect until October 1, 2020, the mere mention of these countries’ inclusion could spook investors and clients at a time when these countries’ economies are in a tailspin from COVID-19.

    Second,  like its failed list before, the EU is lumping jurisdictions which are on FATF’s grey list, that is, the list of monitored jurisdictions with an action plan with those which are on the actual FATF blacklist, that is, those countries for which there is a FATF call for action, namely North Korea and Iran. That poses additional reputational risks for named countries. It is incomprehensible to suggest that the AML/CFT risk posed by Barbados, The Bahamas or Jamaica is equivalent to that posed by those two countries for which a FATF call for action exists.  

    Third, as with the list before, the listed countries have complained that they were not given any advance notice of the updated list or any opportunity to query or contest their inclusion. The EU has stated it will provide technical assistance to those countries listed, but what will such assistance involve and how is it different from the assistance offered by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, the FATF regional body for the Caribbean?

    Fourth, the EU methodology only uses the FATF lists as the baseline for identification of countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes. It begs the question why would the Commission, which is a full FATF member, see the need to create a separate list from FATF – the globally recognized standard-setting and monitoring body for AML/CFT matters. Moreover, unlike the FATF which provides detailed country-specific information through the mutual evaluation reports (MERs), the EU did not publish any detailed reasons for the inclusion of each jurisdiction.

    Fifth, the level of due diligence imposed by the EU goes beyond what is expected by FATF for countries listed as having strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes with an action plan. The FATF does not call for the application of ECDD to jurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies with an Action Plan, but encourages its members to take into account the information presented in its risk analysis.

    Sixth, while the EU list does not impose sanctions or any other restrictions on trade, once a country has been listed as high-risk, European banks and other ‘obliged entities’ are required to apply ECDD on any transactions and relationships involving natural persons or legal entities based in such countries. Further, the EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) provides additional guidance as to the type of ECDD required, which includes obtaining supplementary information on customers and beneficial owners.

    Implications for the Countries Listed

    There are already implications for the Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica being on the FATF list but they increase with the EU list. The required ECDD on transactions  involving  clients  and  intermediaries from these countries could result in costlier and longer clearance times for transactions.

    The EU says its list is not a “name and shame” exercise, but there are reputational implications of being blacklisted or the threat of being blacklisted, especially in the increased climate of bank de-risking. Many large global banks in their risk rating of countries rely on FATF and other countries’ lists to assess country risk. Increased perceived country risk has implications for a jurisdiction’s attractiveness as an IFC and for its foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction more broadly. Some financial institutions may simply decide the enhanced transaction and business relationship monitoring is too much work and choose to de-risk.

    There are, of course, attendant implications for the ease of doing business, cross-border trade and financial transaction flows, which are the lifeblood of these countries’ economies.

    Next Steps?

    The updated draft list still requires approval by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. So what can the named countries do in the interim? Since the EU has stated the FATF lists are its starting point, Barbados, The Bahamas and Jamaica have and should continue to prioritise addressing the outstanding issues highlighted by CFATF in order to exit the FATF grey list.

    The Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica should continue public awareness and outreach activities to local stakeholders, as well as to external stakeholders, on their commitment and progress toward technical and effective compliance with the FATF recommendations.

    Lastly, whenever the EU unjustly and arbitrarily includes our countries on a list such as this, there is a chorus of indignation from our leaders about the morality reprehensibility of such lists. We need to go beyond emotional arguments and present sound empirical research on the impact of blacklisting or the threat of blacklisting on our economies. Perhaps that way we could truly empirically show the negative economic impact of these heavy-handed actions instead of simply appealing to moral suasion.  

    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.

  • Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – May 2-9, 2020

    Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – May 2-9, 2020

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of May 2-9, 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

    UNCTAD released a special issue of its Investment Policy Monitor outlining the latest developments in national and international investment policies in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The report may be accessed here.

    A report by the World Trade Organization (WTO) examining the role of e-commerce in COVID-19 was released this week. Read it here.

    Regionally, the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) agreed on a strategy for re-opening the region’s economies. CARICOM Heads of Government also met virtually on 5 May 2020 to continue their efforts to harmonise their responses to and policies on the multifaceted impact of COVID-19. The full statement from the meeting may be read here.

    The Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica have been included on the European Commission’s revised draft AML/CFT List of High Risk Third Countries released last week. Read my article on this here.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Export revenues decline for January

    Jamaica Observer: The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) reported that for the month of January, revenues from exports amounted to US$102.7 million or 27.8 per cent lower than the US$142.3 million earned in the similar period last year. Read more

    COVID-19 presents great opportunities for J’can businesses — US ambassador

    Jamaica Observer: United States Ambassador to Jamaica, Donald Tapia says the COVID-19 pandemic presents great opportunities for Jamaican businesses to reach out to companies in the United States. Read more

    Regional Foreign Ministers meet to coordinate CARICOM’s foreign policy amid COVID-19 pandemic

    CARICOM: CARICOM Foreign Ministers were reminded of the importance of regional foreign policy coordination in the current uncertain times, as they opened the 23rd Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) via video conference, Thursday. Read more

    Haiti’s Foreign Minister calls for collective action amidst coronavirus pandemic

    CARICOM: Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Haiti, His Excellency Dr. Claude Joseph, has urged his regional counterparts to take collective action as far as possible in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister Joseph chaired the 23rd Meeting of CARICOM’s Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) which opened Thursday via video conference. Read more

    Regional govts discuss united COVID response

    Barbados Today: Caribbean leaders are contemplating a region-wide policy that would re-open airports and hotels for intra-regional travel along with passengers from “selected” international countries, a CARICOM statement has revealed. Read more

    OECS plans regional virtual marketplace

    OECS: Plans for a regional virtual marketplace continue to be a key priority for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    OACPS condemns new EU black list

    CARICOM: The Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, Thursday condemned the decision by the European Commission to include several African and Caribbean countries on a new list of high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies in their regime regarding anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing. Read more

    China says exports rose 3.5% in April, crushing expectations for a decline of 15.7%

    CNBC: China’s dollar-denominated exports unexpectedly rose in April, but imports fell the same month as movement restrictions to contain the coronavirus outbreak eased. Read more

    Covid-19 crisis has highlighted e-commerce importance,cooperation in cross-border goods, services movement: WTO

    Economic Times: Highlighting that network capacity and higher bandwidth services have proved to be crucial, not only during the pandemic itself, but also for e-commerce and economic inclusion in general, it said in an information note: “What can WTO members do to improve communications networks and services?” Read more

    ASEAN Intervenes to Fight Death Spiral of Food Export Restrictions

    VoA: Few images conjure the 1930s Depression like people standing in soup lines while farmers dump food they can’t sell. That is a tragedy Southeast Asia is fighting to avoid, though it is starting to happen in pockets around the world in the midst of COVID-19. Read more

    Under COVID-19 Pandemic, Global Remittances Expected to Decline 20%

    VoA: Stay-at-home quarantines and the temporary shutdown of some banks and establishments that provide money transfers are hindering how immigrants can send money back to their home countries, according to a special report by the World Bank. As a result, global remittances are projected to plunge by 20% in 2020. Read more

    Indonesia-Australia free trade deal to be activated by July

    Brisbane Times: A free trade deal covering $18 billion in agriculture, education and health services between Australia and Indonesia will be activated within two months, as the Morrison government looks to push the economy out of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more

    EU-Mexico trade deal prompts French farming backlash

    Euractiv: The European Union signed a free trade agreement with Mexico on Tuesday (28 April), provoking strong reactions. EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-France reports. Read more

    Trade deal promises falter as US exports to China fall 15%

    Nikkei Asian Review: American exports of goods to China dropped 14.7% on the year for the January-March quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic batters the global economy, raising the specter of Beijing unable to fulfill purchases promised under an initial trade deal. Read more

    Coronavirus: can China and the US uphold the phase one trade deal amid Covid-19?

    South China Morning Post: The economic damage being caused by the coronavirus, and the war of words over who is to blame for the pandemic, are rapidly increasing the doubts over whether the United States and China can uphold the terms of their phase one trade deal. Read more

    Brexit: Tension and uncertainty stalk trade talks

    BBC: Despite the fear, the misery and the suffocating uncertainty of Covid-19, by now you’ve no doubt heard on the Brussels-Paris-Berlin-Dublin-Belfast-London grapevine: the post-Brexit trade talks between the EU and the UK are in trouble. Read more

    UK to blame hard Brexit on COVID-19, warns EU trade chief

    Euractiv: The United Kingdom is preparing to walk away from trade talks with the EU and blame the impasse on the coronavirus pandemic, EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said on Thursday (7 May). Read more

    Report: Rwanda most committed to AfCFTA

    The New Times: Rwanda is the country most committed to the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, a new report, dubbed, The AfCFTA Year Zero Report, has said. 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:

  • Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – April 26 – May 2, 2020

    Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – April 26 – May 2, 2020

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of April 26 – May 2, 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

    A possible flattening of the COVID-19 curve in Caribbean? After weeks of shutdowns in most Caribbean countries, some countries are experiencing a slowdown in the new COVID-19 cases and have cautiously embarked on phased re-opening. However, ECLAC has projected the pandemic to lead to the ‘biggest economic contraction’ in Latin America and Caribbean history. Read my article on this here.

    In multilateral trade news, the Multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement (MPIA) has been notified to the WTO General Council. The Agreement is a temporary workaround by a group of WTO members to preserve the two-tier dispute settlement system following the demise of the Appellate Body in December 2019. The notification document may be accessed here.

    The EU and Mexico have concluded negotiations for a new trade agreement. Read more here.

    My interview with UWITV’s Devaron Bruce on contemporary Caribbean trade issues begun airing this week. If you have access to the UWITV channel as part of your cable subscription, please feel free to check it out!

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Dominican exporters ask Senate to pass ambitious free trade pact

    Dominican Today: Dominican Exporters Association (Adoexpo) president, Luis Concepción on Wed. asked the Senate to ratify the free trade agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the members of the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (Cariforum), before 31 December, the date that the benefits granted by that nation under the agreement of the Dominican Republic and the European Union will be repealed. Read more

    BVI to begin exporting fish to the region

    BVI News: Premier Andrew Fahie has said government has started plans to export fish regionally. Speaking in the House of Assembly recently, Premier Fahie said the export initiative will seek to boost the fishing industry in the British Virgin Islands. Read more

    Beans and banana revenues contribute to the first export increase of 2020

    Breaking Belize News: Whіlе Веlіzе’ѕ ехроrtѕ wеrе dоwn fоr thе fіrѕt twо mоnthѕ оf 2020, thе Ѕtаtіѕtісаl Іnѕtіtutе оf Веlіzе (ЅІВ) rероrtѕ thаt thе mоnth оf Маrсh ѕаw аn іnсrеаѕе оf 2.6 реrсеnt duе lаrgеlу tо іnсrеаѕеd ѕаlеѕ оf rеd kіdnеу bеаnѕ аnd bаnаnаѕ. Read more

    Borrowing Not an Option for Caribbean Countries; Access to Concessional Funding, Debt Relief Urgently Needed to Face COVID-19 Crisis

    CARICOM: Prime Ministers, Premiers, Finance Ministers, Financial Secretaries, and other high-level government representatives from 15 Caribbean countries held yesterday a virtual meeting with ECLAC, heads of Caribbean regional organizations and representatives of other UN agencies in the subregion to discuss the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their economies, already besieged by both climatic and economic shocks, including heavy indebtedness and high exposure to natural disasters. Read more

    COVID-19 and climate change: two sides of the same coin

    Tristan Ward of Caribbean Climate Watch: For many people around the world, 2020 was intended to be a year of clearer vision and progress. However, months into this new decade, the world is at a standstill and its future remains largely uncertain due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Such uncertainty is compounded by the fact that the relationship between COVID-19 and other global challenges such as Climate Change is not inversely proportional. Read more

    Caribbean states urged to step up exports

    Loop Jamaica: Caribbean Export is urging Caribbean countries to step up on exports as a means of supporting local economies amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Read more

    Realising untapped export potential

    Jamaica Observer: President of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro) Diane Edwards says there is more than US$61 million in untapped international export opportunities across the main metropolitan markets for Jamaican businesses. Read more

    JAMPRO supports Global Services Association efforts to protect BPO employees, industry during COVID-19

    Jamaica Observer: Jamaica Promotions (JAMPRO) President, Diane Edwards, says the agency supports Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ) efforts in working with operators in the industry to protect employees in the outsourcing sector and to prevent major long-term disturbances in services for the industry due to COVID-19. Read more

    COVID-19 Pandemic and the Caribbean: Navigating Uncharted Waters

    IMG Blog: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe—bringing severe human and economic costs—the Caribbean is no exception. With over 1,000 confirmed cases, many countries have taken strong containment measures, such as border closures and lockdowns, to “flatten the curve.” Read more

    The Caribbean could face a potential shortage in meat protein

    Loop Cayman: According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Caribbean imported $220.2 million US dollars worth of meat and poultry, representing 5 per cent of all agricultural imports into the Caribbean in 2011. Red meat and poultry accounted for 39 per cent of US exports to the Caribbean of consumer-oriented products in 2011 (USDA). Read more

    IMF sees Caribbean economy shrinking 6.2% in 2020 due to pandemic

    Reuters: A sudden stop in tourism caused by border closures and lockdowns aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic will cause a 6.2% contraction of the Caribbean economy in 2020, the deepest recession in over half a century, the IMF said on Wednesday. Read more

    Rice production so far unaffected by COVID-19 – GRDB

    Stabroek: The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has expressed confidence that rice production this year would be “excellent” despite the novel coronavirus pandemic fallout and assures that that there will be adequate supplies for local, regional, and extra-regional markets. Read more

    SM Jaleel cuts wages, work hours as COVID hits exports

    Trinidad Guardian: Soft drink manufacturer SM Jaleel has reduced the salaries and hours of work of some employees at its plant at the Otaheite Industrial Estate in South Oropouche as it makes adjustments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

    First Tobago enterprise to secure grant for business expansion

    Trinidad Guardian: J Mac Industries Limited is the first Tobago company to receive funding from Government’s Grant Fund Facility (GFF). Entrepreneurs, Mr. Edward Jones and Ms. Glewis Jones, Managing Directors of J Mac Industries Limited, received funding for their company’s business operations and export expansion. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    Ten-point plan to bolster global transport, ease trade during COVID-19

    UNCTAD: UNCTAD issues an action plan to tear down barriers to trade and transport and ensure the free flow of goods, food and essential supplies. Read more

    ICC and the World Customs Organization (WCO) have issued a joint statement calling for increased action on customs and trade facilitation to ensure an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    ICC: In a joint statement, issued today, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO and WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya say effective trade facilitation – based on international standards – will play a central role in enabling business continuity and renewed economic growth. Read more

    U.S. trade authorities keeping tabs on Canada’s coming changes to drug prices

    CTV: The United States is keeping Canada on its “watch list” of countries where policies and practices could pose a threat to American intellectual property rights. Read more

    Is the global trading system unravelling before our eyes? Here is where things stand

    CBC Canada: The modern history of global trade is being written at warp speed, with a dizzying series of developments now testing the international trading system. Read more

    S.Korea’s exports suffer worst slump in 11 years as pandemic shatters world trade

    Financial Post: The coronavirus crisis sent South Korean exports plunging in April at their sharpest pace since the global financial crisis, signaling a bleak outlook for international trade as the pandemic paralyzes the world economy and shatters demand. Read more

    Electronics lift ASEAN to China’s top trade partner in Q1

    CGTN: In the first quarter of this year, ASEAN surpassed the EU to become China’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 15 percent of China’s trade in the first three months. Read more

    Joint statement by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

    WHO: COVID-19 has rapidly progressed to become a global pandemic, causing unprecedented, far-reaching impact on the health, social and economic well-being of communities around the world. Read more

    AfCFTA and the Upcoming Protocol on Investment: What Can Investors Expect?

    Global Arbitration Review: In 2012, African states set out with the ambition to establish an unprecedented ‘Continental Free Trade Area’. Read more

    E-Commerce protocol incorporated into AfCFTA phase III

    Ghanaweb: Despite a potential delay regarding Phase I implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the African Union Commission has incorporated an Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) protocol into the pan African trade agreement. Read more

    India weighing RCEP’s fresh proposal to re-join talks

    Hindu Business Line: India is considering a fresh proposal sent by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members, that include the ASEAN, China, South Korea and Japan, asking it to re-join the negotiations and also indicating that some of the terms laid down by the country when it quit the talks last year may be met, an official has said. Read more

    How global trade will fare post-Covid

    Hindu Business Line: Global supply chains supporting manufactured products in developed countries have taken deep roots over the last couple of decades, leveraging the lower cost of labour in China and other Asian countries. Read more

    Fears Brexit talks could collapse in June but UK still optimistic

    The Guardian: The UK is still optimistic about striking a trade deal with the EU but has warned that talks could collapse in June unless Brussels abandons its demands for a common fisheries policy and a level playing field, a source close to the UK’s negotiating team has said. Read more

    The Pacific Aid For Trade Strategy (PAfTS 2020-2025) Development Partners’ Roundtable

    Scoop NZ: The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and development partners are mobilising support for the Pacific Aid for Trade Strategy (PAfTS) 2020-2025. A consultative virtual teleconference roundtable with development partners was held on 22 April 2020 as an initial step. Read more

    US Cuts to Thailand’s Free-Trade Benefits Take Effect

    VoA: Thailand is set to lose duty-free access for $1.3 billion in exports to the U.S. market today, six months after Washington warned it would pull back on trade privileges unless the country committed to more labor rights reforms. Read more

    Boris gives ‘green light’ for Brexit Britain to start formal US trade talks next week

    Express UK: Britain is set to start trade talks with the US next week, according to reports. Read more

    More flexible trade rules await Mercosur after Argentina pullout

    Buenos Aires Times: Argentina’s controversial decision to pull out of new trade negotiations involving the Mercosur bloc is a move that could pave the way for the largest transformation of the regional trade grouping since its foundation 25 years ago. Read more

    Uruguay and Argentina presidents discuss the future of Mercosur

    Mercopress: Uruguayan president Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou and his Argentine peer, Alberto Fernandez held a half-hour video conference Tuesday mid-morning to address the recent decision by the current Argentine administration to freeze Mercosur free trade negotiations with potential new partners and instead concentrate efforts in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and its sanitary, social, economic and employment consequences. Read more

    Russia Cuts Off Wheat, Other Grain Exports

    VoA: The Russian Agriculture Ministry announced Sunday that it was suspending its export of most grains until July 1, seemingly ignoring warnings from international organizations who are asking countries not to disrupt global food supply chains during the current COVID-19 pandemic. 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: