Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Category: Trade Policy

  • Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – July 4-10, 2021

    Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – July 4-10, 2021

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest for the week of July 4-10, 2021! We are pleased to bring you the major trade and development news headlines and analysis from across the Caribbean Region and the world from the past week.

    The Caribbean Trade Law & Development Blog expresses our profound sadness to hear of the assassination of the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise. We pray for the swift recovery of First Lady Madame Martine Moise who is currently hospitalised. We also express our solidarity with all who have been affected by Hurricane Elsa, which first made landfall in Barbados on Friday, July 2 and continued to affect other countries in the region and parts of the US. I personally wish to thank those readers who reached out to enquire about my well-being following reports of the passage of Hurricane Elsa last Friday and to confirm that I am doing well.

    Please see below some of the week’s highlights!

    THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    G20 finance ministers this week endorsed the proposal for a global minimum corporate income tax of at least 15%.

    The UK disputes the Brexit ‘divorce’ bill estimated by the EU. Read more here.

    The WTO appears to be on the ‘cusp’ of its first multilateral agreement since the Trade Facilitation Agreement. This week, July 15, ministers will meet virtually to advance negotiations on curbing harmful fisheries subsidies. Read more here.

    CARICOM Heads of Government held their 42nd Regular Meeting. Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda Gaston Browne assumed chairmanship of CARICOM as of July 1. The communique emanating from the meeting may be read here.

    On Thursday, July 2, I was a guest on the DeBrief TV Show interviewed by the host Kemar Stuart on the “G7 and the Global Minimum CIT”. The conversation also explored other current geopolitical and political economy issues germane to the Caribbean.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    “The EPA has failed us,” says Prime Minister

    Antigua News Room: Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and Chairman of the Caribbean Community, (CARICOM) the Hon. Gaston Browne has spoken out against the constant targeting of the financial services sectors of the region by developed nations through blacklisting. Read more

    Straughn: Small States need policy space

    Nation News: If small states like Barbados are to achieve and meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they need to be given the appropriate policy space to operate globally. Read more

    MSMEs to tap into grant funding

    Barbados Today: Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Barbados and the rest of the region have just over a week to apply for grants of up to US$15,000 to be used on various technical projects to enhance their operation. Read more

    Gopee-Scoon: $78m spent on luxury foods in three years

    Newsday: Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon has said Trinidad and Tobago spent approximately $78 million a year over the last three years on the importation of luxury food items. She was responding to a question in the Senate on Tuesday. Read more

    Indian envoy aims for more trade with Trinidad and Tobago post-covid19

    Newsday: High Commissioner of India to Trinidad and Tobago Arun Kumar Sahu said since his appointment,, he has pushed for Indian businesses to do more trade with Caribbean countries, especially TT. Read more

    Minister wants more bilateral relationship between T&T, Dominican Republic

    Guardian: Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon has expressed keen interest to further develop the bilateral relationship between T&T and the Dominican Republic in the areas of trade and economic relations. Read more

    TTMA calls for greater accountability in Free Trade Zones

    Trinidad Express: The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) Illicit Trade Desk is calling for greater accountability in Free Trade Zones to prevent illicit trade and money laundering. Read more

    Trinidad and Tobago moves to improve investor confidence

    Newsday: Applying rule of law is important in order to strengthen investor confidence and legitimate trade. And by the US Chamber of Commerce’s accounts, TT is making positive movements in that regard, advancing two points from a 2019 report, indicating an above-average performance within the hemisphere. Read more

    Trade Ministry publishing monthly reports

    Newsday: THE Ministry of Trade and Industry has started the publication of monthly reports on the operations of various border agencies as part of its trade facilitation agenda and to improve trade and customs border transparency. Read more

    US to mount trade mission to the Caribbean

    Jamaica Observer: The United States is planning a Caribbean Region Trade Mission and Business Conference for October, a senior US official has announced. Read more

    Bahamas government signs $12M economic and technical agreement with China

    EyeWitness: The government signed a $12 million economic and technical agreement with the People’s Republic of China during a signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    Investment Facilitation Negotiators Review Proposals, Share Views on Implementation

    IISD: World Trade Organization (WTO) members participating in the discussions on investment facilitation for development (IFD) heard back from the facilitators of discussion groups, and considered implementation, technical assistance, and capacity building in a dedicated session. Read more

    New study makes the case for more US free trade deals

    The Hill: Do free trade deals work? A new study by the International Trade Commission (ITC) says the ones the U.S. has signed have had a small, positive effect on the economy. Protectionists will insist that this means free trade deals do little. That’s wrong. Read more

    Fisheries Talks Chair Presents Revised Text Ahead of July Ministerial

    IISD: The Chair of the World Trade Organization (WTO) fisheries subsidies negotiations, Ambassador Santiago Wills of Colombia, introduced a revised draft text that he said aims to serve as the basis for the July 2021 ministerial-level meeting. Ministers are expected to negotiate a final agreement on 15 July. Read more

    USTR says WTO fisheries deal ‘within reach’ but improvements needed

    Reuters: A fisheries deal at the World Trade Organization is “within reach”, although improvements to the draft agreement are required in order to change the status quo, the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office said on Friday. Read more

    Liz Truss aims to tackle threats to free trade on five-day US visit

    Independent: The International Trade Secretary will meet Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, during her visit from Sunday to Thursday. Read more

    Trump is long gone, but trade

    Washington Post: President Biden routinely praises his Canadian counterpart in the warmest manner, as American chief executives — with one recent exception — have done for decades. And U.S. officials go out of their way to stress the shared vision that unites the two trading partners. Read more

    Canadian exporter confidence rebounds to 20-year high – EDC index

    Reuters: Confidence among Canadian exporters has surged to its highest level in more than 20 years, amid mounting optimism that a sustained global economic recovery is underway, a survey by Export Development Canada (EDC) showed on Thursday. Read more

    Shipping Turmoil Threatens Coffee From World’s Biggest Grower Brazil

    Bloomberg: Getting food where it needs to be around the world is never easy, and it’s been made all the harder this year with the twin forces of pandemic disruptions and climate change. Read more

    UK housing boom may derail post-Brexit trade dreams

    Reuters: History suggests Britain’s house price surge could threaten hopes of post-Brexit export-powered growth, if finance minister Rishi Sunak uses the housing market to fuel the economy like his predecessors did. Read more

    WTO report: Trade policy restraint prevented destructive acceleration of protectionism

    Trade policy restraint by G20 economies, as well as WTO members more broadly, prevented a destructive acceleration of protectionist trade measures that would have further hurt the world economy, according to the WTO’s latest Trade Monitoring Report. Read more

    Mexico to try former negotiator of USMCA trade pact

    AP: A judge in Mexico ordered the country’s former economy secretary, who served as one of the lead negotiators of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, to stand trial on illicit enrichment charge. 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:

  • 10 Trade Policy Developments to watch in 2020

    10 Trade Policy Developments to watch in 2020

    Alicia Nicholls

    Happy New Year! It is both a new year and a new decade, but several stories we were following in 2019 have spilled over into 2020. 2019 started off as a year of uncertainty and volatility with increased trade restrictive measures and slowing global merchandise trade growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows.

    Towards the end of 2019 some positive developments occurred and so 2020 does present some potential bright spots, such as the likely ratification of the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Agreement, a now definitive date for Brexit and what appears to be an initial US/China deal.

    There are many things which are likely to impact global trade in 2020, including geopolitical developments, technological advancements, data privacy rules, climate change and the growing demand for more environmentally-friendly goods and services. All of these have the potential to either positively or negatively impact, inter alia, freight rates, supply chains and firms’ import, export and investment decisions, and on a wider scale, the global economy.

    While this is not meant to be an exhaustive list, here are the top ten trade developments we will be watching in 2020:

    1. WTO Reform

    The WTO is celebrating its 25th year of existence, but is also facing several challenges which threaten to undermine some seventy years of a rules-based multilateral trading system. Key this year to watch will be whether there will be a solution to the now defunct Appellate Body, and whether there will finally be a conclusion to the fisheries subsidies negotiations which again failed to yield an agreement last year. The US also continues to argue for a revamping of the current system of eligibility for Special & Differential Treatment. The 12th WTO Ministerial Conference will be held in Nur-Sultan, Kazahstan in June 2020, and will therefore be one of the organisation’s most important ministerial meetings to watch.

    2. Brexit

    After several missed deadlines for leaving the European Union (EU), the decisive victory handed to the Conservatives in the December 12, 2019 snap United Kingdom (UK) election meant that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was able to get parliamentary approval of his deal with the EU. The UK is now on track to leave the current 28-member grouping on January 31, 2020. Some political and economic uncertainty remains, however, especially with the stronger electoral performance of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Will the Scottish opposition to leaving the EU undermine the unity of the UK and will there be yet another Scottish independence referendum? What kind of post-Brexit trade agreement will the UK and EU eventually negotiate?  

    3. Trade Wars: US/China and Japan/South Korea

    After a year of continued touch and go negotiations and escalating tensions between the US and China, a ‘Phase One’ trade deal, which was announced in December 2019, will be signed January 15, 2020. The text of the Agreement has not yet been released, but it reportedly contains chapters on intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, unfair currency practices, trade expansion and dispute resolution. Under the agreement, China has agreed to increase imports from the US, and the US has deferred implementing the List 4B Section 301 tariffs which were to have come into effect on December 15, 2019 and decreased some of the List 4A tariffs.

    Receiving much less attention is the Japan-South Korea trade tensions which escalated in summer 2019 with fears that it could have harmed the global economy. The two Asian economic behemoths have had a challenging political history, but tensions flared up in July 2019 when Japan restricted the export of three chemicals (fluorinated polyamides, photoresists, and hydrogen fluoride) to South Korea. Japan is the major exporter of these chemicals which are needed in the production of semi-conductors and display screens – top export products for South Korea. Senior-level negotiations between the two countries were held in December and there appears to be some de-escalation in tensions.

    4. US Presidential Election

    Without doubt, the inauguration of President Donald Trump in 2017 saw a radical shift in the US’ trade and foreign policy. At this stage, it is unclear who the democratic nominee will be. However, trade policy is likely to be a major issue in the US election campaign, and even among the current democratic contenders there are some differences in their approaches to trade policy.

    What is certain, however, is that a Trump re-election in November 2020 would entail four more years of economic nationalism, a continued retreat from multilateralism, undermining of the rules-based multilateral trading system, and climate change denial.

    4. Regional Trade Agreements: USMCA, RCEP and AfCFTA

    After much uncertainty about the fate of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – the agreement which seeks to update and replace the NAFTA – a revised agreement was eventually signed in December 2019. It will need to be ratified by each of three parties in order to enter into force.

    Another agreement to watch will be the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) whose negotiations began in 2012. At the Bangkok Summit in November 2019, it was announced that the text has been agreed. Although India pulled out of the RCEP negotiations, it appears that the remaining fifteen parties are on track to sign the Agreement in 2020.

    Phase II negotiations on the operationalisation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will begin in 2020 and will focus on investment, competition policy and intellectual property.

    5. IMO shipping fuel standards

    The United Nations International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Low Sulphur Regulation comes into effect January 1, 2020. From this date, the IMO requires all shipping companies to reduce their sulphur emissions by 85%. The sulphur in fuel oil must be reduced to 0,50 from 3,50% for all sea-going vessels. This is an important move for reducing shipping emissions, although concerns have been raised about the possible freight rate increases.

    6. ACP-EU Post-Cotonou Negotiations

    The Cotonou Agreement – the partnership agreement which sets the framework for cooperation between the European Union (EU) on the one hand, and the countries of the ACP (renamed to the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS) – is due to expire in 2020. The Cotonou Agreement was signed in 2000 and revised in 2010. Negotiations on a successor agreement will continue into 2020.

    7. Second Review of the EU-CARIFORUM EPA

    2020 would make it twelve years since the EU-CARIFORUM EPA has been provisionally applied between the EU and CARIFORUM countries. The second review on the implementation and impact of the EPA is currently on-going and consultations were held in 2019. The first EPA review in 2014 found that the EPA had not led to a significant increase in CARIFORUM exports to the EU, and there was still implementation work to be still done on both ends. The results of the second review will be important to gauging what additional progress has been made.

    8. Pending CCJ Advisory Opinion on freedom of movement

    The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will this year deliver its first advisory opinion pursuant to Article 212 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) on the circumstances under which it is lawful for CARICOM Member States to “opt-out” of CARICOM Heads of Government decisions that involve fundamental objectives of the Community. Last year the Court held a two-day hearing where it heard oral submissions. The ruling will be critical to clarifying Community law on opt-outs.

    9. UNCTAD XV – October 2020

    All eyes will be on Barbados and the United Arab Emirates in October 2020 when the two nations will co-host the UNCTAD XV quadrennial. This will be a good opportunity for Barbados to help influence the trade and development agenda for the next four years, highlighting issues such as climate change and small States issues.

    10. COP26 Climate Talks

    2020 is a ‘make or break’ year for climate action. By most measures, the UNFCCC COP25 was a disappointment despite being the longest UN climate talks on record. Agreement on Paris Agreement Article 6 (carbon markets) and common timeframes, for instance, remains elusive and has been pushed back again to COP26. It should be noted that 2020 is the year when parties are expected to undertake their first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement and ratchet up their climate ambition by submitting more ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Climate change both impacts and is impacted by trade. As such, these talks will be key to follow.

    As usual, we at the CTLD Blog will be monitoring these developments. We welcome you to follow them with us by reading our weekly Caribbean Trade & Development News Digests. You can subscribe here to receive the mailings directly to your inbox:

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B., is an international 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.

    DISCLAIMER: All views expressed herein are her personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of any institution or entity with which she may be affiliated from time to time.

  • Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – July 7 – 13, 2019

    Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – July 7 – 13, 2019

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of July 7-13, 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.

    THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    In this week’s headlines, fifteen countries in the West African regional bloc ECOWAS have agreed to adopt a single currency called the ECO next year. Regionally, Jamaica aims to deepen its trade and other bilateral relations with the Cayman Islands, while Barbados has its eye on investment opportunities in Guyana.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Jamaica – Cayman Islands to strengthen trade, bilateral relations

    Caribbean News Now: Jamaica is moving to improve trade relations with the Cayman Islands, prime minister Andrew Holness said speaking to the Jamaican diaspora in the Cayman. Read more

    WTO ‘devastating’ for farmers and fisheries

    Tribune 242: Becoming a full World Trade Organisation (WTO) member will be “devastating” for Bahamian farmers because they are “not prepared” for the competitive demands of liberalised trade regimes. Caron Shepherd, president of the Farmers United Cooperative, told Tribune Business. Read more

    Barbados seeking to encourage investments in Guyana

    Jamaica Observer: The Barbados Government is seeking to lure local investors to invest in Guyana, which is the world’s second-largest stock market, NASDAQ last month named as the fastest growing economy in the world. Read more

    Investment potential in Guyana

    Barbados Today: Investment opportunities in Guyana worth millions of dollars appear to have captured the attention of dozens of workers and entrepreneurs eager to tap into its growing market. Read more

    Antigua PM Reports Positive Talks On Ownership In Scotiabank Country Branch

    Jamaica Gleaner: The Antigua & Barbuda government is reporting positive feedback to a proposal that would allow it to own at least 40 per cent of the local Scotiabank operation, under a regional transaction in which the Canadian owner is offloading some of its Caribbean assets to Republic Financial Holdings Limited. Read more

    Antigua – Barbuda and the Dominican Republic forge closer relations: Embassy to break ground soon

    Caribbean News Now: Prime Minister Gaston Browne fulfilled a promise made three years ago to the president of the Dominican Republic to transfer one acre of land for the construction of an embassy and residences for the Dominican Republic in St John’s, presented the land certificate to foreign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic, Chancellor Miguel Vargas who paid an official visit to Antigua and Barbuda over the weekend. Read more

    Statistical Capacity-Building Underway in CARICOM Member States

    CARICOM: The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has embarked on a series of exercises across the Region as it steps up its efforts to build capacity in statistics. The Community is working towards providing robust, quality statistics to inform and advance its development thrust. Read more

    Caribbean Countries to Benefit from Access to Insurance for the Fisheries Sector

    OECS: CCRIF SPC and the World Bank are pleased to announce that on July 1, the Facility issued the Caribbean Oceans and Aquaculture Sustainability FaciliTy (COAST) fisheries parametric insurance policy to two of its member governments – Grenada and Saint Lucia. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    ECOWAS West African nations to adopt unified ‘eco’ currency

    IOL: The Economic Community of West African States announced at the end of its summit in Abuja, Nigeria, that it would be adopting the ECO as its shared currency by 2020. Read more

    France passes tax on tech giants despite US threats

    BBC: France has approved a digital services tax despite threats of retaliation by the US, which argues that it unfairly targets American tech giants. The 3% tax will be levied on sales generated in France by multinational firms like Google and Facebook. Read more

    Trump-China Trade Tensions Hit Panama Canal Revenues

    Bloomberg: Cargo from the U.S. to China going through the key waterway has slumped this year as the Asian giant cuts its imports of American food and fuel, according to Panama Canal Authority CEO Jorge Luis Quijano. Read more

    Beijing to impose sanctions on US firms involved in US$2.2 billion Taiwan arms deal

    South China Morning Post: Beijing said on Friday it will issue sanctions against the US companies involved in the latest arms sale to Taiwan, as tensions between China and the United States continue to rise. Read more

    US tells Britain: Fall into line over China and Huawei, or no trade deal

    Telegraph: Donald Trump’s negotiators have signalled that the next prime minister’s hopes of a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States rest on his willingness to fall in line with tough American policies against the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. Read more

    EU-Mercosur trade agreement: The Agreement in Principle and its texts

    EU: In view of the Commission’s transparency policy, the Commission is publishing the texts of the Trade Part of the Agreement following the agreement in principle announced on 28 June 2019. Read more

    Nigeria signs Africa free trade agreement: statement

    Reuters: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has signed up to the $3 trillion Africa free trade agreement, a spokesman confirmed on Sunday. Read more

    African Leaders Launch First Continental Trade Agreement

    VoA: Leaders discussed “operational” parts of the agreement at a recent gathering of the African Union in Niger. The deal had been under discussion since 2002 and a general agreement to form the trade area was reached in March. Read more

    Canada posts rare trade surplus as exports to U.S. hit record high

    Financial Post: Canada’s trade balance unexpectedly swung into surplus for the first time in 10 months on a broad-based jump in exports, adding to evidence the economy has returned to a more solid footing. Read more

    Germany Sees 50% Chance for EU-U.S. Trade Deal, Possibly in 2019

    Bloomberg: German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier sees a 50% chance of the European Union striking a trade agreement on industrial goods with the U.S., possibly this year. Read more

    A Deeper Look at Vietnam’s Trade Deal With Europe

    The Diplomat: The EU’s drive to become the defender of multilateralism promises further opportunities for Southeast Asia. Read more

    What is GATT 24: What is the WTO clause at the centre of Andrew Neil’s grilling of Boris Johnson

    Independent: Boris Johnson was taken to task by the BBC’s Andrew Neil over his knowledge of GA​TT 24 – the clause in WTO rules he believes could allow the UK to continue to trade freely with the EU in a no deal scenario. Read more

    Australia steps up sugar trade fight with India, moves WTO

    Hindu Business Line: Australia has intensified its sugar related dispute with India by formally asking World Trade Organisation (WTO) to set up a panel to probe if the world’s second-largest sugar producer was breaching its obligations, a media report said Friday. Read more

    Japan denies imposing South Korean trade embargo at WTO

    Reuters: Japan denied imposing a trade embargo on South Korea on Tuesday, after a complicated diplomatic dispute that could disrupt global supplies of chips and smartphones erupted over forced labor in World War Two and banned trade with North Korea. Read more

    Global trade: Making a start for WTO reforms

    Financial Express: Members desirous of preventing disruption of the appellate process in WTO disputes would enter into a plurilateral accord providing for appeal arbitration. Read more

    Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan for businesses dismissed by head of WTO

    Independent: The head of the World Trade Organisation has blown a hole in Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans as Conservative members vote on whether he should become party leader and prime minister. Read more

    Brazil escalates WTO dispute over India sugar subsidies that distort global sugar markets

    Business Today: The Brazilian government said on Thursday it had asked the World Trade Organization to establish a panel aimed at resolving its dispute over Indian sugar subsidies, according to a joint statement by the foreign and agriculture ministries. Read more

    India involved in 14 disputes at WTO currently, says Piyush Goyal

    Business Standard: At present, India is involved in 14 WTO disputes, all of which are being handled by domestic law firms. Read more

    USTR Announces Fiscal Year 2020 WTO Tariff-Rate Quota Allocations for Raw Cane Sugar, Refined and Specialty Sugar and Sugar-Containing Products

    USTR: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today announced the country-specific and first-come, first-served in-quota allocations under the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on imported raw cane sugar, refined and specialty sugar and sugar-containing products for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 (October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020). Read more

    USTR Announces Initiation of Section 301 Investigation into France’s Digital Services Tax

    USTR: On July 10, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) initiated an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 of the Digital Services Tax (DST) of the Government of France. 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:

  • Trinidad & Tobago receives largely positive feedback during latest WTO Trade Policy Review

    Trinidad & Tobago receives largely positive feedback during latest WTO Trade Policy Review

    Alicia Nicholls

    On May 22 and 24, 2019, the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago underwent the fourth review of its trade policies and practices under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Policy Review Mechanism. Trade Policy Reviews are the process by which the trade practices and policies of each WTO member are collectively evaluated by the WTO Membership (acting as the Trade Policy Review Body) at periodic intervals. Trinidad & Tobago is reviewed every six years and previously underwent reviews in 2012, 2005 and 1998.

    In April this year, the Trade Policy Review Mechanism celebrated 30 years of existence. It is an important aspect of the WTO’s monitoring function and aims to periodically evaluate the impact of each Member’s trade policies and practices on the multilateral system, thereby ensuring accountability, predictability and transparency of the rules-based multilateral trading system.

    An independent report prepared by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the WTO member being reviewed form the basis of the review. Trade Policy Reviews are a detailed and lengthy process which begin many months in advance of the actual meetings in Geneva. In January 2019, a WTO Review team visited Trinidad & Tobago and consulted with various government and private sector stakeholders. This week a delegation from Trinidad & Tobago which was led by H.E. Senator Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry of Trinidad & Tobago and comprised five technical members, was in Geneva, Switzerland for the period May 20-24 to attend the review meetings at the WTO.

    Trinidad & Tobago received largely positive feedback for the current review period (2012-2019). According to the concluding remarks by the Chairperson, more than 200 questions were submitted by 15 Members. The questions and answers are usually available six weeks after the review process is completed. The Chairperson’s concluding remarks noted that Trinidad & Tobago provided answers to all the written questions submitted in advance of the meeting.

    The Chairperson’s concluding remarks listed the areas in which WTO Members appeared to be pleased with Trinidad & Tobago’s performance, including the return to economic growth after a period of recession, the steps taken to improve its government procurement regime through the passage of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, the modernization of its customs infrastructure and the introduction of a single electronic window in 2012 and the introduction of a new online payment system for import tariffs and other taxes and fees in 2019. They also praised the twin island Republic’s active participation in the WTO, its acceptance of the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in 2013 and its ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement in 2015.

    Trinidad & Tobago was encouraged by some Members to join the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and to become an observer to the Agreement on Government Procurement. Other areas suggested for improvement include facilitation of access to visas and foreign exchange, improving the regime for Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Standards (SPS) and providing further information on enforcement actions for intellectual property rights. Some Members also encouraged Trinidad & Tobago to notify its announcement of an import ban on plastics from 2019 to the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade to allow comments from Members.

    Members, however, raised some areas of particular concern. On the issue of tariffs, they noted, for example, that the applied Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rate exceeded the country’s bound rate on 59 tariff lines in 2018, up from 50 in 2011 during its last review. Another area of concern for Members was while the import surcharges imposed in 1990 were supposed to be temporary, the Government had continued to apply new import surcharges. Members also noted that Trinidad & Tobago’s notifications were either not up to date or outstanding in some areas, but were pleased to learn that the country made a formal request for technical assistance on notifications.

    While Trade Policy Reviews are an often intensive exercise for the Member being reviewed, they are an important opportunity for WTO Members to query other Members’ trade policies and practices, as well as for Members themselves to receive objective periodic feedback on their adherence to rules, disciplines and commitments under the WTO’s agreements, as well as on their general trade and investment framework. This feedback could be useful to Governments seeking to make business and investment facilitation reforms to improve their competitiveness and investment attraction.

    The Secretariat’s detailed report contains extensive information on the overall business environment of the Member reviewed for the review period, including its macroeconomic environment, its legal and regulatory framework for trade and investment and trade policies and practices by measure and by sector. As such, trade policy review documents are often rich initial sources of information for businesses and investors interested in doing business or investing in a particular economy.  

    Once Trinidad & Tobago submits its replies within a month’s time to any follow up questions raised during the meeting, the Trade Policy Review will have been successfully concluded.

    The documents from Trinidad & Tobago’s latest review may be accessed here. Also visit the website of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for press releases related to the review here.

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B., is an international 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.

    DISCLAIMER: All views expressed herein are her personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of any institution or entity with which she may be affiliated from time to time.