Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Category: trade digest

  • Caribbean Trade & Development Digest – October 20-26, 2019

    Caribbean Trade & Development Digest – October 20-26, 2019

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of October 20-26, 2019! 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.

    THE WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    South Korea has agreed to give up its ‘developing country’ status in future negotiations at the WTO. This move is in light of increased US pressure for a change in the current system of self-designation as a developing country at the WTO. Read here.

    The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) held a two-day hearing in its first ever application for an Advisory Opinion. At the end of the second day, the judges indicated that they would deliver their decision in a “reasonable time”. Read more here.

    The World Bank has released its latest Doing Business Report (2020). Find out how the Caribbean fared here.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Bermuda Launches Two Key Fintech Initiatives, Becomes First Nation to Accept Stable Coins for Government Payments

    National Law Review: On Oct. 16, 2019, Bermuda Premier the Hon. E. David Burt JP, MP announced that Bermuda has committed to accept, for payment of government taxes, fees, and services, 1:1 U.S.-dollar-backed digital currencies of entities licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) under the 2018 Digital Asset Business Act (DABA), becoming the first nation to do so. Read more

    Antigua To Sell Shares In State-Owned Oil Company

    Jamaica Gleaner: The Antigua and Barbuda government says it is to sell 10 per cent of its shares in the state-owned West Indies Oil Company (WIOC). Read more

    Belize Senate ratifies UK-CARIFORUM trade treaty

    Breaking Belize News: Тhе Ѕеnаtе mеt іn ѕресіаl ѕеѕѕіоn thіѕ mоrnіng іn rесоrd tіmе tо rаtіfу а trеаtу ѕаfеguаrdіng trаdе bеtwееn Веlіzе аnd fеllоw Саrіbbеаn ѕtаtеѕ аnd thе Unіtеd Кіngdоm. Read more

    CARICOM to await CCJ decision on waiver for free movement

    Jamaica Observer: The five (5) Justices of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) have promised, at a “reasonable time,” to deliver their decision on whether countries within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) can lawfully, under the legal framework of the organisation, choose to opt-out of obligations set out in the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) agreement. Read more

    The Caribbean exhibits record of reforms in business sector in 2018

    Prensa Latina: The economies in the Caribbean carried out a record of 19 reforms during 2018 to help private national companies do business, a report released today by the World Bank (WB) says. Read more

    Jamaica Opposition welcomes reversal in Ease of Doing Business ranking

    Jamaica Observer: People’s National Party (PNP) shadow minister of Industry, Competitiveness & Global Logistics Anthony Hylton has welcomed the reversal in Jamaica’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report 2020. Read more

    Agricultural woes: building a domestically and internationally competitive sector

    Dominica News Online: Finding agricultural products that can compete both on the domestic and international markets has been singled out as one of the major challenges facing the sector in the region. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    Nigeria’s border closure has implications for Africa’s economic integration

    The Conversation: Nigeria recently partially closed its border with Benin in an effort to stem the smuggling of rice. It then went on to close its land borders to the movement of all goods from Benin, Niger and Cameroon, effectively banning trade flows with its neighbours. Read more

    China Signs its First African Free Trade Agreement with Mauritius

    China Daily Briefing: China and Mauritius signed a free trade agreement (FTA) on October 17. This is China’s first FTA with an African nation. The agreement will reportedly give Mauritius duty-free access to about 8,547 products, representing 96 percent of Chinese tariff lines. Read more

    RCEP deal hangs in balance even as India, other members resolve some issues

    Livemint: India and other member countries of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) may have resolved differences related to investor to state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism and data localization, but issues such as India’s demands to shift the base year for tariff cuts to 2019 and an auto-trigger mechanism to check import surge from China may make or break a deal. Read more

    China submits 7th offer to join government procurement agreement at WTO

    Xinhua: China has submitted the 7th offer to join the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), which added the military sector for the first time, according to the Ministry of Finance. Read more

    China’s New Investment Law a Positive Step, Foreign Firms Say

    Bloomberg: China’s new law governing foreign investment will take effect next year. Read more

    US-China Trade Truce: Cautious Optimism or Reasonable Pessimism?

    Modern Diplomacy: China and the United States have achieved tangible progress in their recent round of trade talks. This has given rise to cautious optimism about the possibility of striking a deal, writes the Chinese edition of Global Times. Read more

    Brexit: European leaders agree extension to 31 January

    BBC: EU leaders have agreed in principle to extend Brexit until 31 January 2020 – meaning the UK will not leave as planned on Thursday. Read more

    Breaking down the path forward for the USMCA

    Politico: With fewer than two dozen legislative days left in the year, the pressing question for the USMCA is not just whether U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and House Democrats will be able to reach a deal, but whether they still have enough time to get it done by 2020. Read more

    The EU should be leading this new era of FTAs, shaping new standards and spurring on growth

    Euronews: The next EU Trade Commissioner faces a daunting in-tray. Certainty is in short supply and difficult decisions abound. Many of them are marked urgent. Read more

    China asks WTO for $2.4 billion sanctions against U.S. in latest clash

    Reuters: China is seeking $2.4 billion in retaliatory sanctions against the United States for failing to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling in a case that highlights White House complaints about the global trade body. 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 & Development Digest – October 13-19, 2019

    Caribbean Trade & Development Digest – October 13-19, 2019

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the weeks of October 13-19, 2019! 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.

    THE WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    The EU and UK announced they had negotiated a new Brexit deal whose full text may be found here. The deal is yet to receive UK parliamentary approval and instead the UK House of Commons voted to delay Brexit again. PM Boris Johnson sent a letter to Brussels seeking a delay. However, the UK government will seek a meaningful vote on the deal tomorrow, Monday. Catch up on the latest Brexit developments here.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Marriott Acquires Elegant Hotels in Barbados, Boosting All-Inclusive Offering

    Travel Market Report: Marriott has agreed to buy Elegant Hotels Group in a $130.1 million deal, as it looks to grow its all-inclusive portfolio in the Caribbean. Read more

    J’can Company B&D Gains From US-China Trade War – Grows Lobster Sales As Conch Ban Bites Into Income

    Jamaica Gleaner: With US$185 billion worth of duties being slapped on American exports to China in retaliation for US imposition of US$550 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, leading seafood exporter, Kingston-based B&D Trawling Limited is ramping up volumes of live and frozen lobster sales into that Asian market at a significantly lower tariff than its US competitors. Read more

    Caribbean Export signs three MOUs to support the Caribbean’s export growth

    Jamaica Observer: At the recently held 4th staging of the Cariforum-European Union (EU) Business Forum in Frankfurt, Germany; three memorandum of understandings (MOUs) were signed between the Caribbean Export Development Agency and key stakeholders in Europe. Read more

    Trinidad Tourism Ltd: Tourism sector set to grow in 2020

    LoopTT: For the new fiscal year 2019/2020, Tourism Trinidad Limited’s (TTL) is aiming to increase visitor arrivals to 380,000, a 7 percent increase on the previous year’s figures. Read more

    TSTT raises over $2.7 b on US roadshow

    Trinidad & Tobago Guardian: A US$400 mil­lion 10-year bond of­fered by the Telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions Ser­vices of Trinidad and To­ba­go (TSTT) has been “sig­nif­i­cant­ly over-sub­scribed” the T&T Guardian has learned. Read more

    Facilitation of business improving in Barbados

    Barbados Today: Following recent rounds of Social Partnership talks, the private sector says it is pleased with progress being made by Government to address the vexing issue of business facilitation. Read more

    OECS/ITC workshop proving a success

    Antigua Observer: Stakeholders involved in the ongoing regional business excellence seminar have voiced their pleasure with the developments, noting in particular, the shared business experiences and solutions. Read more

    Mastercard Enters Jamaica, Targets Unbanked

    Jamaica Gleaner: It’s been roughly a month since technology company Mastercard settled into its new office space in New Kingston, but discussions are already ongoing to have the company doubling users of electronic payment systems across Jamaica over the next three years. Read more

    Former Diplomat Cites ‘Corruption Of EDF Resources In Saint Lucia’ In Open Letter

    St Lucia Times: See full letter to the editor. Read more

    Business, Consumer Confidence in Jamaica Dips In Third Quarter

    Jamaica Gleaner: Business confidence dipped in the third quarter of 2019 as firms have second thoughts about their positive expectations for the economy over the next year. Read more

    Jamaica Lobbies US On Correspondent Banking Relationships

    Caribnews NY: Jamaica will continue to lobby the United States to take the lead in legitimizing licensed cannabis growers and processors in the correspondent banking relationships with US banks, Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, and Fisheries, Minister Audley Shaw, has said. Read more

    Caribbean countries looking to take advantage of ACP-EU accord

    Jamaica Observer: As the 79-member African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries negotiate a post-2020 relationship with the European Union (EU), culture is being presented as an untapped sector that can contribute to the further development of the region. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    China’s developing country status brings it few benefits in the WTO

    East Asia Forum: Whether China is a ‘developing’ or ‘developed’ country for the purposes of the World Trade Organization (WTO) matters a lot to US President Donald Trump. Trump ignited a new front in the US–China trade war in July 2019 by tweeting that the world’s richest nations are masquerading as developing countries to get special treatment. Read more

    UK’s independent seat at WTO to include Channel Islands

    Gov.uk: The UK has today (Thursday 17 October) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it will extend its WTO membership to include the Channel Islands. Read more

    Growing the Fiji Australia trade

    FBCNews: “For a small open economy like Fiji, our government agencies and policies aim to be pro-enterprise and pro-innovation. We are committed to working with our businesses to achieve these outcomes.” These were the remarks by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism Premila Kumar, while speaking at the 25th Australia-Fiji Business Council Forum in Brisbane last week. Read more

    RCEP explained: The 16-country free-trade agreement that India may sign

    The News Minute: While countries have been negotiating since 2013, India has also been facing opposition from multiple domestic industries. Read more

    What’s Really in the Trade Deal Trump Announced With China

    New York Times: The partial trade deal hasn’t been signed and some details still have to be negotiated, but it could help some American firms. Read more

    South Africa gets behind China’s defence of multilateral trade

    South China Morning Post: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the two countries should work together to oppose protectionism. Read more

    Russia Steps Up Its Game in Africa

    Moscow Times: The inaugural Russia-Africa summit shows Putin’s growing influence on the continent. Read more

    STRAIGHT FROM THE WTO

    NEW ON THE CTLD BLOG

  • Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – August 11 -17, 2019

    Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – August 11 -17, 2019

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of August 11-17, 2019! 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.

    HIGHLIGHTS

    ECLAC’s Foreign Direct Investment in the Latin America and Caribbean Report 2019 revealed that while FDI to the entire LAC region increased by 13.2% in 2018 versus 2017, in the Caribbean, inflows shrank by 11.4% due to lower investment in the Dominican Republic ($2.535 billion dollars, -29%). Read the report here.

    The WTO has also reported that the growth of world merchandise trade volumes is likely to remain weak in the third quarter of 2019 according to that organization’s Goods Trade Barometer, released on 15 August. Read more

    It was announced that the UN will be hosting its first ever Trade Forum on September 9-13, 2019 and will be entitled “SDGs and Climate Change”.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    New Customs Act (2019) to promote Jamaica’s socio-economic development

    Jamaica Observer: Arising from a decision of Cabinet in 2017, the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) was tasked with the responsibility to develop a new legislative framework which would further promote business opportunities for Jamaica, particularly in the areas of shipping, logistics and international trade. Read more

    Eel Export Tax Jumps from 42¢ to $16.00 per kg

    Haiti Sentinel: A memorandum from the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) dated August 12, 2019 stated that “from now on, the export costs of the eels are set at 1,500 gourdes ($15.77 [USD]) per kilogram.” Read more

    Haiti and Dominican Republic Teaming Up against Cocoa Cultivation Threat

    Haiti Sentinel: Haiti and the Dominican Republic, together with representatives of the private sector of both countries, are working to define and apply a common strategy to prevent an eventual occurrence of moniliasis, a disease that attacks cocoa crops. Read more

    Green welcomes mapping of Jamaica’s cultural, creative industries

    Jamaica Observer: Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Floyd Green, says the Mapping of Cultural and Creative Industries in Jamaica will increase the awareness of the island’s resources and give an accurate valuation of the industries. Read more

    Belize Minister of Investment leads delegation visit to Taiwan

    Breaking Belize News: Minister of State for Investment, Tracy Panton, and an accompanying delegation visited the Republic of China (Taiwan) this week as one of several activities commemorating the 30th anniversary of Belize and Taiwan’s diplomatic relationship. Read more

    Delays at the Port costing Barbados government

    Barbados Today: Goods imported into Barbados take four times as long as they do in neighbouring St Lucia to be cleared, the head of the Port of the Bridgetown has revealed, complaining of the cost of the delay to Government. Read more

    Belize and Republic of China (Taiwan) strengthening ties through new agreement

    Breaking Belize News: Today, the Government of Belize (GOB) and the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (RoC) signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to engage in the negotiation of a Partial Scope Agreement (PSA) geared towards formalizing trade relations between the two countries. Read more

    The Bahamas’ Ease of doing business committee satisfied with improvements

    The Nassau Guardian: Chair of the National Ease of Doing Business Committee (EODB) Lynn Holowesko said the committee is very pleased with many of the policies introduced in the 2019/2020 budget aimed at improving the business climate in the country, particularly surrounding immigration, conveyance valuations and estate planning. Read more

    Customs Fraud Fighting Initiative Launched in The Bahamas

    The Bahama Journal: The Bahamas Customs Department and Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest introduced the new online portal Click2 Clear, which is designed to protect against customs fraud. Read more

    Guyana working closer with India to build solar energy capacity

    Kaieteur News: The Head of State noted that the relations between the two countries continue to be enhanced by high-level engagements between officials of both states as Guyana would have signed and ratified the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance in January 2018 under his tenure. Read more

    Chastanet Meets With US Delegation

    The Voice: St Lucia Prime Minister met with representatives of the US House of Representatives. Read more

    CBU President calls for preservation of indigenous broadcasters

    RJR: President of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), Gary Allen has expressed the need for a sincere commitment to the preservation of indigenous broadcasters in recognition of the integral role they play in social and economic development. Read more

    Sugar Association of the Caribbean wants governments to tax sugar coming outside of CARICOM

    Breaking Belize News: The Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC) is calling for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations to place Common External Tariffs (CETs) on white sugar imported from outside the region to strengthen the regional market. Read more

    EU releases food for Haiti in response to food crisis

    Jamaica Observer: The European Union (EU) has released €9 million in humanitarian aid to Haiti, in response to the deteriorating food and nutrition situation in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) member state. Read more

    T&T Prime Minister envisions one border for region as Carifesta begins

    LoopTT: Carifesta XIV opened on Friday night with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley calling for regional unity. Read more

    Time to Fully Implement CSME

    Trinidad Guardian: If ever there was op­por­tu­ni­ty and ne­ces­si­ty for Cari­com coun­tries to ful­ly im­ple­ment the 30-year old Cari­com Sin­gle Mar­ket and Econ­o­my, the “sub­dued glob­al eco­nom­ic ac­tiv­i­ty and glob­al trade” of the present makes it the right “Time for Ac­tion.” Read more

    Caricom’s Assistant Secretary General, CSME is not a dream

    Trinidad Guardian: The CARI­COM sin­gle mar­ket and econ­o­my (CSME) and CARI­COM is not a fan­ta­sy but a con­crete sit­u­a­tion that is mov­ing for­ward. This is ac­cord­ing to CARI­COM’s As­sis­tant Sec­re­tary-Gen­er­al in the Di­rec­torate for Trade and Eco­nom­ic In­te­gra­tion, Joseph Cox. Read more

    Water Scarcity May Be New Way of Life for Caribbean, St. Kitts and Nevis Minister warns

    CARICOM: Minister of Public Infrastructure, Honourable Ian “Patches” Liburd, says that climate change related challenges such as floods, sea level rise, drought and extreme weather conditions are the new norm for the Caribbean. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    Ottawa announces $1.75-billion compensation for dairy farmers to offset impact of trade deals

    Financial Post: Agriculture minister says Liberals are committed to no longer cede market share in the dairy sector in future international free trade negotiations. Read more

    Australian Government releases list of items the EU wants protected in free trade deal

    News.au: Australian cheesemakers could be dealt a major blow as the European Union targets the naming rights to some of the most popular products. Read more

    Cambodia-European Union trade deal is on the chopping block

    Al Jazeera: Accusations of human rights abuse by the Cambodian government may force the end of a preferential trade agreement. Read more

    Brazil’s Guedes threatens to quit Mercosur if populist opposition wins Argentina election

    Reuters: Brazil will pull out of the Mercosur trade bloc if the opposition party wins Argentina’s presidential elections later this year and closes the economy with protectionist policies, Brazil’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Thursday. Read more

    US retailers to rely on Vietnam amidst exits from China’s textile industry

    Singapore Business Review: Vietnam’s textile sourcing rose 13% YoY in Q1 2019.Vietnam is expected to benefit the most from plans by US retailers to diversify production to other manufacturing hubs and reduce reliance on China for their textile needs, according to a Fitch Solutions report. Read more

    India’s export basket skews towards services, pulls down trade deficit

    Livemint: India’s export basket is undergoing a silent transformation, a trend that explains why the services sector, which accounts for about half of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), is doing better than other segments of the economy. Read more

    US-China trade war hits Africa’s cobalt and copper mines with 4,400 jobs expected to vanish

    South China Morning Post: The US-China trade war is partly to blame for Anglo-Swiss mining giant Glencore’s move to shut a cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and copper mining shafts in Zambia, with the probable loss of about 4,400 jobs, analysts say. Read more

    China Makes Up US Trade War Deficit by Buying from ASEAN, Belt and Road Countries

    China Briefing: China is balancing the US trade slowdown with more bilateral trade with ASEAN and Belt and Road Initiative countries. Read more

    US-UK trade pact ‘won’t pass Congress if Good Friday deal undermined’

    Euronews: There is no chance that a trade agreement between the United States and Britain will pass Congress if Brexit undermines the Good Friday peace accord between Ireland and Northern Ireland, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday. Read more

    UK ‘first in line’ for US trade deal, says John Bolton

    BBC: The UK is “first in line” for a trade deal with the US, President Trump’s national security adviser has said. John Bolton said the US supported a no-deal Brexit and added Washington would propose an accelerated series of trade deals. Read more

    Norway Freezes Support For Amazon Fund: EU/Brazil Trade Deal At Risk? – Analysis

    Eurasia Review: Ola Elvestrun, Norway’s environment minister, announced Thursday that it is freezing its contributions to the Amazon Fund, and will no longer be transferring 300 million Norwegian Krone (US$33.2 million) to Brazil. Read more

    Nigerian Traders Seek National Assembly’s Ratification of AfCFTA Agreement

    AllAfrica: The National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) has advised the National Assembly to urgently ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to ensure its speedy implementation. Read more

    Ghana is best entry point for foreign investors to Africa – Trade Minister

    Ghanaweb: Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry, has said that Ghana is the best entry point for foreign investors to do business in Africa because of its investor-friendly policies. Read more

    Sadc launches Business Council

    The Chronicle: Southern African Development Community (Sadc) has officially launched a new Business Council, an over-arching regional private sector platform aimed at increasing collaboration with the public sector and accelerating regional economic development and industrialisation. Read more

    Brexit: judge fast-tracks challenge to stop Johnson forcing no deal

    The Guardian: Hearing in Edinburgh to block suspension of parliament backed by more than 70 MPs. Read more

    EU’s Juncker tells Britain: no-deal Brexit will hurt you the most

    EURACTIV: A no-deal Brexit would hurt Britain more than the rest of Europe no matter how much Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government pretends otherwise, outgoing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in remarks published on Saturday (10 August). Read more

    US and Britain discuss trade deal that could take effect on 1 November

    EURACTIV: Britain and the United States are discussing a partial trade accord that could take effect on 1 November, the day after Britain is due to leave the European Union, a senior Trump administration official said on Tuesday (13 August). Read more

    Trump threatens to pull out of WTO

    WTO: At the site of an under-construction petrochemicals plant in Monaco, Pa., for a speech Tuesday that was to be about energy policy, Trump said that the United States has been taken advantage of by WTO member states, especially China, for too long — and it was about to stop. Read more

    ‘India, China No Longer Developing Nations, Will Not Let Them Take Advantage’: Trump Flays WTO Status

    News 18: Earlier in July, Trump asked the WTO to define how it designates developing-country status, a move apparently aimed at singling out countries like China, Turkey and India which are getting lenient treatment under the global trade rules. Read more

    India’s seafood exports to EU to be hit after Vietnam-EU free trade pact

    Hindu Business Line: India’s seafood exports to the European Union is set to drop sharply this year after its biggest competitor Vietnam signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Bloc in July that helps it export products to the EU without any customs duty, according to the Maharashtra region head of the seafood exporters body. Read more

    US-China trade war — The unlikely European winners

    Deutsche Welle: The imminent US tariffs on Chinese goods are expected to throw up some unexpected winners in Europe, a study shows. The gains for the European countries are only likely to increase if China chooses to retaliate. Read more

    European Commission proposes adjustments to the existing safeguards for steel

    EU: The Commission today presented a proposal for adjustments to the existing safeguard measures for steel. Read more

    South Korea hits back at Japan in WW2 dispute

    BBC: South Korea has said it will take Japan off its favoured trade partners’ list. Read more

    WTO NEWS

    NEW ON 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 & Development News Digest – July 21 – July 27, 2019

    Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – July 21 – July 27, 2019

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of July 21-27, 2019! 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.

    Please note that there will be no digest for the week of July 28-August 3, 2019.

    HIGHLIGHTS

    The WTO General Council met on July 23-24, 2019. The summary of the meeting may be viewed here. The US resubmitted its proposals on reforming the current model of eligibility for special and differential treatment, while a consortium of developing countries tabled a paper on strengthening the WTO.

    US President Trump issued a memorandum to the USTR to secure reform of developing country status in the WTO. Have a read of my article on this here.

    It was announced this week that Prime Minister of Barbados, the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley will be the speaker at UNCTAD’s 16th Raul Prebisch Lecture to be held September 10, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    June 2020 Target For Wto Is ‘Aspirational’

    Tribune 242: Elsworth Johnson, newly-appointed minister of financial services, trade and industry and Immigration, told Tribune Business he had been advised even the World Trade Organisation (WTO) itself felt the accession timeline set by The Bahamas was “extremely rigid”. Read more

    Guyanese manufacturers say Plantation white sugar unacceptable; reject call for 40% tax on refined sugar

    Demerara Waves: The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association Limited (GMSA) on Monday rejected calls by a Belizean producer of Plantation white, or mill white, sugar to impose a Caribbean-wide 40 percent tax on extra-regionally refined sugar, saying that Plantation white sugar will result in poor quality products and in some cases injury to consumers. Read more

    CARICOM Secretariat Team carries out CSME Sensitisation in Jamaica

    CARICOM: A CARICOM Secretariat team is in Jamaica this week collaborating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) on a series of CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) engagements with the private and public sectors, labour and other stakeholders. Read more

    Forex, FDI, trade in ‘freefall’

    Barbados Today: Caribbean capacity to generate foreign exchange, investment and exports appears be to freefall, a senior official of the United Nations regional economic watchdog has suggested. Read more

    Surinamese business delegation to visit Russia – Lavrov

    TASS: Russia and Suriname will prepare a visit of a delegation of Surinamese businessmen and government officials to Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday after talks with Foreign Minister of Suriname Yldiz Deborah Pollack-Beighle. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    UK on course for no-deal Brexit as Johnson rejects EU agreement

    The Guardian: Boris Johnson has set the UK on an apparent course towards a no-deal Brexit by playing down the likelihood of any talks with the EU unless Brussels agrees to scrap the existing withdrawal agreement and Irish backstop, both of which it has ruled out. Read more

    Assuming EU will not budge, Britain ramps up preparations for no-deal Brexit

    Reuters: The British government is working on the assumption that the European Union will not renegotiate its Brexit deal and is ramping up preparations to leave the bloc on Oct. 31 without an agreement, senior ministers said on Sunday. Read more

    Johnson ready to talk if EU changes position on Brexit deal

    RTE: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told EU leaders he will sit down for Brexit talks when they indicate that they are ready to shift position, otherwise Britain will prepare for leaving without an agreement, his spokeswoman has said. Read more

    Fed Survey Finds Widespread Concerns Over Trade

    Jamaica Gleaner: The United States Federal Reserve’s latest nationwide survey, released on Wednesday, reveals that despite growing worries about the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade battles, the overall economy remained solid. Read more

    India’s proposal for Wto reforms supported by a large majority of countries

    Livemint: A large majority of countries on Wednesday endorsed a joint proposal by India, South Africa, and seven other countries for reforming the World Trade Organization, in the face of existential threats to the survival of multilateral trading system, say trade envoys. Read more

    Canada and Europe make deal to work around blocked World Trade Organization

    CBC Canada: Canada and the European Union have agreed on a plan to set up a substitute appeals body for trade disputes between them, they announced Thursday. Read more

    ICC welcomes EU and Canada’s decision to arbitrate WTO trade disputes

    ICC: The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) welcomes the European Union (EU) and Canada’s announcement to utilize international arbitration panels to resolve trade disputes under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Read more

    Africa must boost industrial capacity to benefit from free-trade zone: AfDB

    Reuters: African nations will need to boost output of goods and services and integrate payment systems if they are to take advantage of a new $3.4 trillion economic initiative, according to the head of the African Development Bank. Read more

    WTO NEWS

    NEW ON 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: