Caribbean Trade Law and Development

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  • Call for Papers 2016 – 40th Annual Conference of the Society for Caribbean Studies

    Call for Papers 2016

    Please see below Call for Papers 2016 from the Society for Caribbean Studies’ 40th Annual Conference:

    The Society for Caribbean Studies invites submissions of abstracts of no more than 250 words for research papers on the Hispanic, Francophone, Dutch and Anglophone Caribbean and their diasporas for this annual international conference. Papers are welcomed from all disciplines and can address the themes outlined below.

    We also welcome abstracts for papers that fall outside this list of topics, and we particularly welcome proposals for complete panels, which should consist of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 4 presenters.

    Those selected for the conference will be invited to give a 20 minute presentation. Abstracts should be submitted along with a short bio of no more than 150 words by 11th January 2016. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered.

    For further information, please visit the official website of the Society for Caribbean Studies here.

     

  • Haiti’s 2nd Trade Policy Review is taking place Dec 2nd-4th

    Alicia Nicholls

    Haiti will be undergoing its 2nd Trade Policy Review this week December 2nd-4th. Haiti was last reviewed in November 2003.

    The WTO’s Trade Policy Review mechanism allows for surveillance of the national trade policies and practices of each WTO member state. It is a peer review process and allows outsiders to understand the member state’s trade policies while also giving feedback on such policies.

    The Trade Policy Review mechanism is a critical aspect to the monitoring of each country’s adherence to WTO trade rules and helps to ensure transparency. While all WTO members are subject to the TPR, the frequency of review is tied to that member’s contribution to world trade.

    After each review there is a policy statement by the government under review and an independent report written by the WTO’s Secretariat.

    Guyana’s trade policy review report was released in September, while Barbados and Dominican Republic had their reviews in January and July respectively.

    Further information on the WTO’s trade policy review process may be obtained here.

  • Guyana, 3rd CARICOM country to ratify WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement

    Alicia Nicholls

    As a welcomed update to my article last week entitled the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and Caribbean Small Island Developing States, Guyana has become the third member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to ratify the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement. In so doing, it joins Belize and Trinidad & Tobago as the only CARICOM states so far to have ratified the Agreement.

    The TFA seeks to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods across borders through the harmonisation, simplification and acceleration of customs procedures and to improve cooperation among member states in customs matters. Full implementation of the TFA could increase global merchandise exports by up to $1 trillion  per year, according to the WTO’s World Trade Report 2015.

    The TFA will go into effect once two-thirds of the WTO’s 161 member states ratifies it. Guyana is now the 53rd WTO member state and the first South American country to have done so. According to the WTO’s press release, Guyana’s instrument of acceptance was received by the WTO Secretariat yesterday November 30.

    In its third Trade Policy Review of Guyana report published in September 2015,  the WTO Secretariat noted positively that:

    Guyana continued to streamline customs procedures and implement trade-facilitation measures during the review period. Since Customs started its operation of risk management in 2009, physical inspections have no longer been required for each consignment of imports and exports (except for export to the United States and the United Kingdom), and the length of time required for customs procedures has been reduced.

    In April 2015, Guyana established a National Committee on Trade Facilitation  to coordinate the work needed for the implementation of the TFA.  From a check of the WTO website’s section on Category A notifications, it appears that Guyana has since its review still not as yet submitted its Category A notifications. Additionally, legislation will be needed to provide for advance rulings and pre-shipment inspection as required under the TFA.

    Given the financial and technical constraints of implementation, it is expected that Guyana will avail itself of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Facility which was established to provide support for Least-developed countries and other developing countries.

    Guyana’s ratification of the Agreement is a step in the right direction and it is hoped that other CARICOM states will follow suit.

    My article last week on the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and Small Island Developing States can be read here.

    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. Please note that the views expressed in this article are solely hers. You can also read more of her commentaries and follow her on Twitter @LicyLaw.

  • 24th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Concludes in Malta

    Alicia Nicholls

    Heads of Government of the Commonwealth Caribbean joined other leaders of the 53-state Commonwealth Group of Nations for the 24th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta on November 27-29. The meeting was held under the theme “The Commonwealth: Adding Global Value” and comes in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris and immediately precedes the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21).

    The agenda focused on the following themes: peace and security, human rights and good governance, migration, sustainable development, small states, climate change, trade, youth, gender quality and women’s empowerment, public health, current situations, movement of Commonwealth citizens, Commonwealth collaboration and the election of the new Secretary General.

    Outcomes

    Baroness Patricia Scotland was elected the 6th and first female Secretary General of the Commonwealth. It was agreed that Guyana would be one of the member governments to serve on the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) for the next two years.

    The final communiqué released by the leaders includes several noteworthy points of specific importance to the Commonwealth Caribbean, and other small island developing states. The leaders also released a separate statement on climate change.

    Climate Change

    • Developed Commonwealth countries committed to assisting in mobilizing US$100 billion per year by 2020 to address the adaptation and mitigation needs of developing countries.
    • A Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub has been established to build the capacity of Commonwealth small and other climate vulnerable states to access climate finance with regional support.

    Trade & Freedom of Movement

    • A voluntary Commonwealth Trade Finance Facility was launched to increase trade and investment finance, in particular for small and other developing economies with limited access to trade finance.
    • Leaders acknowledged a proposal for a “Commonwealth Advantage” under which Commonwealth governments will consider measures to enhance access to each others’ countries more easily and for longer in keeping with their national legislation and international obligations regulating visa policies. A working group has already been working on this.

    Peace & Security

    • Commonwealth leaders recognized the growing trend of recruitment of youth persons by extremist groups as fighters, including from some Commonwealth countries.
    • Leaders renewed their commitment to implement and support national strategies to counter these threats, including the need to address recruitment and radicalization of youth via the internet and Commonwealth programmes to raise awareness and prevent young people from falling victim to radicalization and terrorism.
    • They called upon all member governments to implement their obligations under the UN Security Council Resolution 2178(2014) on foreign terrorist fighters in full and to join or fully implement the Arms Trade Treaty.

    Border Disputes in Guyana and Belize

    • The leaders endorsed the outcome statement of the Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana following its meeting in September 2015, and reaffirmed their “unequivocal support for the maintenance and safeguarding of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
    • They also welcomed the signing of thirteen cooperation agreements between Belize and Guatemala and reiterated their full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belize.

    Small States

    • A Commonwealth and Maltese government-funded Small States Centre of Excellence will promote the interests of small states and provide targeted capacity building programmes and other support.

    The full statements may be accessed here:

    Commonwealth Leaders’ Statement on Climate Change 

    Final Communique 

    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. Please note that the views expressed in this article are solely hers. You can also read more of her commentaries and follow her on Twitter @LicyLaw.