Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Category: Trade

  • Caribbean Trade & Development Digest – February 12-18, 2017

    Caribbean Trade & Development Digest – February 12-18, 2017

    Source: Pixabay

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development Digest for the week of February 12-18, 2017!  I am pleased to share some of the major trade and development headlines and analysis across the Caribbean region and the World. 

    For past issues of our weekly Caribbean Trade & Development Digest, please visit here.

    To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please follow our blog.

    REGIONAL

    CARICOM to implement system to measure results of implementation

    CARICOM Today: The reform process that is underway in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is working towards a Results Based Management (RBM) system that will measure the tangible results of regional integration mechanisms.Read more 

    Government looking to strengthen relations with EU

    JIS: The [Jamaican] Government is examining ways to more effectively utilise the CARIFORUM-European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to strengthen Jamaica’s trade relations with the 27-member EU. Read more

    Minister Rhuggenaath highlights Business Opportunities with Dominican Republic

    Curacao Chronicle: The Dutch Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic organized a meeting of partners and representatives of the public and private sector of the Dominican Republic with the Minister of Economic Development of Curaçao, Eugene Ruggenaath. Read more 

    Guyana to sign agreement with the EU

    Jamaica Observer:  Guyana says it will sign the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) under the European Union Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (EU/FLEGT) initiative, which Georgetown adopted in 2003. Read more 

    Guyana opens High Commission in Trinidad & Tobago

    Stabroek: Guyana has opened its first ever diplomatic mission in Port-of-Spain, which is expected to enhance bilateral relations with Trinidad and Tobago. The new High Commission, headed by High Commissioner Bishwaishwar ‘Cammie’ Ramsaroop-Maraj, replaces Guyana’s Honorary Consulate in the sister Caricom state. Read more

    CARICOM to hire lobbyists to avoid FATCA fallout

    Daily Express: CARICOM countries will jointly contribute some US$240,000 to lobbyists to act on behalf of Carib­bean-based banks to avoid censure and loss of correspon­dent banking access in the face of the looming Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).Read more 

    INTERNATIONAL

    Asia eyeing bilateral trade pacts with the US after Trump ditches TPP

    Singapore Business Times: EVERYTHING old is new again when it comes to trade deals. Read more [Requires subscription]

    TPP members to decide its fate in May – Mustapa

    New Strait Times: Eleven Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) members are expected to decide on the future of the pact in May this year during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministerial meeting in Vietnam. Read more 

    European Parliament gives green light to CETA

    GTR: The European Parliament has voted in favour of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada and taken another defiant step toward greater free trade in the face of growing protectionism. Read more

    Froman: Withdrawing from Trade Agreements not the Answer

    PlanetPrinceton: Compelling economic and strategic arguments exist for keeping agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership, former US Trade Representative Michael Froman said on Tuesday. Read more 

    World Trade Outlook Indicator suggest moderate trade momentum in Q1 2017

    WTO: The WTO’s latest World Trade Outlook Indicator (WTOI) suggests that global trade growth will continue to build moderately in the first quarter of 2017 after having strengthened in the final quarter of last year. Read more

    Sri-Lanka Singapore free trade agreement

    Hiru News: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post that the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement will hopefully be completed this year. Read more

    Indonesia files appeal against WTO panel ruling on agricultural import measures

    WTO: Indonesia filed a notice of appeal on 17 February 2017 in the cases brought by New Zealand and the United States in “Indonesia – Importation of Horticultural Products, Animals and Animal Products” (DS477 and 478). Read more

    Trump says NAFTA deal with Canada will only be “tweaked”

    CTV: After his first face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he only plans to “tweak” the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada, while his administration has a lot more work to do with Mexico. Read more 

    EU preparing legal challenge against Donald Trump’s US Border Tax Plan

    Telegraph: EU lawyers are preparing to mount a legal challenge against President Trump’s hugely controversial US border tax proposals in what could be the biggest case in World Trade Organisation history. Read more 

    Bangladesh to sign free trade agreement with Sri Lanka soon

    ColomboPage: A free trade agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is currently being discussed to boost the bilateral trade and the governments will sign the agreement soon, Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has said. Read more 

    Thailand to India: Speed Up Decision on free trade pact

    Business Line: Thailand wants India to fast-track its decision on the proposed full-fledged free trade agreement (FTA) with the country to increase trade and investment flows. Read more

    NEW ON CTLD BLOG

    EU-Canada CETA Approved by European Parliament

    “What’s Next for NAFTA?” FITT Trade Elite Chat Recap

    Liked this issue? Read past issues of our weekly Caribbean Trade & Development Digest, please visit here. To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please follow our blog.

  • EU-Canada CETA Approved by European Parliament

    Alicia Nicholls

    Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have given their stamp of approval to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed by the European Union (EU) and Canada on October 30, 2016. This is according to a press release by the European Parliament yesterday.

    In the vote held on February 15, 2017, 408 MEPs out of the 751-member European parliament voted in favour, while 254 voted against it. There were 33 abstentions. The MEPs also approved the EU-Canada Strategic Partnership Agreement complementing the CETA, which will deepen EU-Canadian cooperation on a wide range of non-trade issues.

    The 30-chapter CETA aims to strengthen trade and investment ties between EU countries and Canada. Negotiations were launched in May 2009 and took over 5 years of negotiations before being concluded in September 2014.

    Among other things, the agreement will upon its entry into force eliminate tariffs on most goods trade between the EU and Canada. A few sensitive industrial and agricultural products will either face longer periods of protection or in a few limited cases, are excluded completely from tariff cuts. Canada has also historically agreed to open its federal and municipal procurement markets. An innovation in the agreement is the establishment of an Investment Court System instead of the much maligned investor-state dispute settlement system for the settlement of investment disputes.

    As the CETA is classified as a “mixed agreement” by the European Commission, the next step will be ratification by national and regional parliaments in individual EU countries. According to the press release, MEPs expect that provisional application of the agreement could start by as early as April 1, 2017.

    For further information, please see the European Parliament press release.

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B., is a trade and development consultant with a keen interest in sustainable development, international law and trade. You can also read more of her commentaries and follow her on Twitter @LicyLaw.

  • “What’s Next for NAFTA?” FITT Trade Elite Chat Recap

    “What’s Next for NAFTA?” FITT Trade Elite Chat Recap

    Alicia Nicholls

    Last Thursday I was a panellist for the Forum for International Trade Training’s (FITT) Trade Elite Twitter Chat on “What’s Next for NAFTA” – the North American Free Trade Agreement which comprises the United States (US), Canada and Mexico.

    My fellow panellists were Horacio Lopez-Portillo, a Partner at Vazquez, Tercero and Zepeda in Mexico City,  John Boscariol, Partner and leader of the International Trade and Investment Law Group at McCarthy Tetrault LLP in Toronto, Joy Nott, the President and CEO of the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters (I.E. Canada) in Toronto and  Paola Viviana Murillo, the Founder and Director of Latincouver. The moderator was Jon Yormick, Special Counsel for Phillips Lytle LLP.

    The topic is timely in light of new US President Donald Trump’s sustained criticism of NAFTA and his call for a renegotiation of the over two-decades old agreement. The discussion focused on issues surrounding the strengths and weaknesses of NAFTA in its current dispensation, whether there was the need for a NAFTA 2.0, whether other more modern free trade agreements like the recently concluded EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) could serve as useful models for a NAFTA 2.0,how  issues such as e-commerce, labour, services and the environment should be addressed, and how much blame should really be placed on NAFTA for job losses.

    Please feel free to read FITT’s recap of the robust discussion on their website here. Further information on FITT’s past and upcoming Tradeelite Chats can also be found in the FITT website at the previous link.

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B., is a trade and development consultant with a keen interest in sustainable development, international law and trade. You can also read more of her commentaries and follow her on Twitter @LicyLaw.

  • Caribbean Trade and Development Digest – February 5-11, 2017

    Caribbean Trade and Development Digest – February 5-11, 2017

    Source: Pixabay

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development Digest for the week of February 5-11, 2017!  I am pleased to share some of the major trade and development headlines and analysis across the Caribbean region and the World. 

    For past issues of our weekly Caribbean Trade & Development Digest, please visit here.

    To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please follow our blog.

    REGIONAL

    Curacao wants to import Dominican products due to Venezuelan crisis

    Curacao Chronicle: This week the government of Curaçao said that it is interested in importing agricultural products from the Dominican Republic after the collapse of relations in that field between the island and Venezuela. Read more 

    Caribbean Integration in times of Trump

    Prensa Latina: Caribbean leaders analyze with worry here this week, the political and economic impact and the regional scenario after the assumption, last January 20, of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Read more 

    OECS collaborates with ICAO

    St. Lucia Times: Border control officers across the OECS are now better equipped to facilitate regional travel, in conformance with international standards. Read more 

    Caricom Review Commission to publish report soon

    Jamaican Observer: The report of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Review Commission is expected to be completed and submitted to Cabinet shortly. Read more 

    CTO signs MOU with Airbnb

    CTO: The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the region’s tourism development agency, and Airbnb, whose community marketplace provides access to millions of unique accommodations, today signed a landmark agreement to develop a set of policy principles and recommendations on the sharing economy for Caribbean governments and other stakeholders.Read more

    CTO enters Partnership with OAG to provide market insights

    CTO: The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the Caribbean’s tourism development agency, has entered into a marketing partnership with leading air travel data provider OAG to provide members with accurate, timely and actionable insight and analysis to aid decision-making and to spot opportunities in essential markets. Read more

    Caribbean Tourism Arrivals at All-Time High

    CTO: Caribbean tourism broke new ground in 2016, surpassing 29 million arrivals for the first time ever, and once again growing faster than the global average. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL

    RCEP nations set for meeting to finalise trade modalities

    Nation Multimedia: Officials from 16 countries, including Asean and its six trading partners, will try to conclude the modalities for liberalisation in the trade of goods by the middle of this year. Read more 

    Merkel and Uruguay’s Vazquez push to deepen EU-Mercosur ties

    Deutsche Welle:  Angela Merkel intends to push trade talks between the EU and Mercosur nations. The chancellor has met with Uruguay’s president to forge new bonds in the wake of Donald Trump’s inauguration in the United States. Read more 

    Macri and Temer agree to open Mercosur and to closer ties to Mexico

    Mercopress: The leaders of Brazil and Argentina said on Tuesday they would pursue closer ties with Mexico and other Latin American nations alarmed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s promises to tear apart trade deals and build a wall in the Mexican border to protect American jobs. Read more 

    Pre-clearance bill would give US border agents in Canada new powers

    CBCNews: U.S. border guards would get new powers to question, search and even detain Canadian citizens on Canadian soil under a bill proposed by the Liberal government. Read more 

    Reps urge Trump Administration to fix Cyber Trade Agreement

    The Hill: A bipartisan slate of representatives with cybersecurity chops is pressuring President Trump’s top national security adviser, Michael Flynn, to change an export agreement many believe weakens international cybersecurity.  Read more 

    Trade Agreement to boost MSG Ties

    Fiji Times: MINISTER for Industry, Trade and Tourism Faiyaz Koya believes the Melanesian Free Trade Agreement will usher a deeper and stronger trade and economic relations amongst the MSG countries. Read more 

    Commission publishes negotiating proposals for EU-Indonesia trade deal

    European Commission: European Commission has published nine initial European proposals for the trade agreement under negotiation with Indonesia. Read more 

    While Trump and Abe eye bilateral pact, Australia keeps TPP alive

    The Diplomat: Japan and the United States have agreed to start new talks on trade and investment, adding to speculation over a bilateral trade deal between the two security allies. However, all is not lost for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), with Australia’s trade minister vowing to salvage the deal at March talks.Read more 

    Brazil files WTO complaint against Canada over alleged subsidies to Bombardier

    WTO: On 8 February, Brazil notified the WTO Secretariat that it had requested WTO dispute consultations with Canada regarding alleged subsidies provided to Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier. Read more 

    Indonesia files notice of appeal in EU Fatty Alcohols Anti-dumping case

    WTO: Indonesia filed a notice of appeal on 10 February 2017 in the case “European Union – Anti Dumping Measures on Imports of Certain Fatty Alcohols from Indonesia” (DS442). Read more 

    Germany’s global trade surplus hits a record in 2016

    WSJ: Germany’s exports exceeded its imports by the widest yearly margin on record last year. Read more 

    BONUS – Caribbean Tourism Breaks New Ground (from Hugh Riley Blog)

    This week the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) released a detailed report on the Caribbean’s tourism performance for 2016, showing the region surpassed a record 29 million stay-over arrivals in 2015. Please see CTO’s Secretary-General, Hugh Riley‘s very informative and detailed breakdown of the market performance on his blog here.

    NEW ON CARIBBEAN TRADE LAW & DEVELOPMENT

    US Federal Appeals Court Upholds Suspension of Trump Travel Ban

    CARICOM and Cuba reach agreement to expand market access preferences

    Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and Airbnb sign partnership agreement

    IMF Staff Recommend St Lucia CIP Revenues be used Primarily to Reduce Debt

    Liked this issue? Read past issues of our weekly Caribbean Trade & Development Digest, please visit here. To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please follow our blog.