Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Tag: trade news

  • Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – May 9-15, 2021

    Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – May 9-15, 2021

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest for the week of May 9-15 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.

    THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will have its first female Secretary General as of August 15, 2021. This week, Heads of Government unanimously selected Belizean Dr. Carla Barnett to be the incoming SG. Read more about what awaits the new SG here.

    Jamaica is exploring once again the possibility of creating an Economic Residency Programme. Read more here.

    According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Bolivia has notified  its need to utilise the flexibility under the TRIPS  2017 amendment. Read more

    United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Katherine Tai testified this week at a Senate Finance Committee Hearing on the President’s Trade Agenda. Read her remarks here.

    Afronomicslaw Symposium: Prospects for Deepening Africa-Caribbean Economic Relations – Call for Blogs (Extended Deadline: June 4)

    Given the limited but promising trade and investment relationship between both regions, there is a dearth of scholarly analysis on the Africa-Caribbean economic relationship. This Symposium aims to address this gap in international economic relations scholarship through considered analytical pieces exploring aspects of this understudied relationship. We invite authors to submit blog contributions which critically analyze and examine this relationship from a variety of perspectives. Read the full Call for Blogs here.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Regional integration and the CSME to be taught in CARICOM classrooms

    Loop News Caribbean: Starting on Monday, around the region, the teaching of regional integration and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME) will be done in classrooms as part of a new indicative by the CARICOM Secretariat. Read more

    CARICOM launches regional integration and CSME pilot programme

    Searchlight: The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat is continuing efforts to increase the teaching of regional integration and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) in CARICOM classrooms via a new initiative that was due to start yesterday, Monday May 10, 2021. Read more

    More Protection For Condensed Milk And Clinker In CARICOM

    JIS: Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Audley Shaw, has informed that condensed milk and clinker (used in cement production) supplied within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) “have [now] been afforded an additional layer of protection”. Read more

    State Entities That Facilitate Imports And Exports To Be Digitised

    JIS: Some 20 State entities that facilitate imports and exports are earmarked for digitisation under the Jamaica Electronic Single Window for Trade (JSWIFT) initiative. Read more

    Barbados AG: UK listing disappointing, but not surprising

    Nation News: Statement from Attorney General Dale Marshall on the UK Government’s listing of Barbados as a High-Risk Third Country. Read more

    Barbados, Dominica collaborating on resilience investment

    Barbados Today: Barbados is engaging the services of the International Financial Corporation (IFC) in association with Dominica, as the two countries seek to embark on a pilot project to spur private sector investment in resilience. Read more

    St Kitts PM makes global appeal for regional vaccine availability

    NYCaribNews: Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris Friday called on the United States and other vaccine producing countries to ensure the equitable distribution of the vaccine needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) that has killed thousands of people in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) grouping. Read more

    CARICOM states ‘lack green energy drive’ despite ‘ambition

    Barbados Today: Warning that it will take upwards of $40 billion (US$20 billion) in investment for CARICOM to reach the goal of 100 per cent renewable energy use and energy efficiency, a senior regional civil servant has expressed disappointment at the slow pace of some member states in going green. Read more

    BTMI relaunches Barbados tourism brand

    Nation News: The Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) virtually relaunched Barbados’ tourism brand to the world earlier today, unveiling the new brand theme “Little Island; Big Barbados”. Read more

    BTMI chief introduces National Tourism Marketing Committee

    Barbados Today: A new National Tourism Marketing Committee (NTMC) has been established under the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) to focus on the strategic marketing of niche tourism product offerings, the state tourism agency said Friday. Read more

    Barbados exports down

    Barbados Advocate: According to the data, overall domestic exports brought in income of $102.8 million, compared to $117.2 million a year earlier and $135 million in the same three-month period in 2019. Read more

    Increase trade in services – EU delegation

    Jamaica Gleaner: Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Jamaica, Marianne Van Steen, is encouraging Jamaica to increase trade in services to better exploit opportunities within the 27-member trade bloc. Read more

    Government of Belize Reconstitutes a National Trade Negotiating Commission

    LoveFM: Distance, language, tariffs, and import quotas are barriers that often put small and medium-sized economies at great trading disadvantages. But with the formation of the National Trade Negotiating Commission, Belize is hoping to even the playing field. Read more

    Bahamas ambassador promotes Caribbean priorities for EU partnership agreement

    EyeWitnessNews: Maria O’Brien, ambassador extraordinaire and plenipotentiary of The Bahamas to the Kingdom of Belgium and head of mission to the European Union, recently represented The Bahamas at an official ceremony to finalize a new partnership agreement between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union. Read more

    Trinidad & Tobago Trade Ministry promotes opportunities in the UK market

    Trinidad Express: As the Government of Trinidad and Tobago continues to actively increase the country’s exports to extra-regional markets, the Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with exporTT Limited recently hosted a Virtual Awareness Session on the CARIFORUM-United Kingdom (UK) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Read more

    Trade Minister meets with TT Chamber’s new Head

    Trinidad Express: Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry held a virtual meeting earlier today with the newly installed President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce (TTCIC), Mr. Charles Pashley. During the meeting several matters related to supporting the growth and expansion of the local private sector were discussed. Read more

    Use of The Bahamas’ vast ocean resources — Bahamas Development Bank looks at the potential and offers grants for training

    EyeWitness News: The recent Blue Economy Think Tank hosted by the Strategic Development and Initiatives Unit of the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) attracted over 340 registered participants and 20 panelists from The Bahamas and abroad, who examined ways in which Bahamians can benefit from sustainable use of the country’s vast ocean resources. Read more

    IDB urges Caribbean countries to do more to meet their Paris Agreement commitments

    Jamaica Observer: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says Latin America and the Caribbean countries must include finance and planning perspectives to their climate policies and commitments in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) if they expect to deliver on their Paris Agreement objectives and promote a sustainable recovery. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    WTO DG fixes July ministerial meeting on over-fishing rules

    Reuters: The head of the World Trade Organization plans to host a ministerial meeting on July 15 where she hopes an agreement can be reached on cutting fisheries subsidies after 20 years of talks, a document showed on Monday. Read more

    WTO Aims for Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies in July 2021

    IISD: World Trade Organization (WTO) members reviewed work undertaken in March and April to advance negotiations on an agreement to curb harmful fisheries subsidies. WTO members are aiming to reach an agreement in July 2021. Read more

    How global trade can save lives and livelihoods – and help protect the planet

    WEForum: Global trade has a role to play in saving lives in the COVID-19 pandemic, creating jobs and sustainable development that mitigates against climate change. This was the view of the panellists at the World Economic Forum’s latest Agenda Dialogues session on the Global Trade Outlook. Read more

    Piyush Goyal, US Trade Representative discuss COVID-19 vaccine production, TRIPS waiver

    Business Today: During a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, United States Trade Representative (USTR), Katherine Tai, reaffirmed the commitment of the US to help India. Read more

    China, WTO need to upgrade overdue digital trade rules

    Hellenic Shipping News: Over the years, the digital economy has developed greatly throughout the world. But World Trade Organization (WTO) digital trade rules have stagnated. Since the new Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala took office in February, reforms regarding digital trade rules are facing greater challenges and opportunities. Read more

    ‘Hostile environment’: After Brexit, some EU citizens in the UK are worried about their future

    CNBC: Many EU citizens who are still living in the U.K. after Brexit have said they do not feel treated equally to British citizens and feel worried about their rights, a new survey has found. Read more

    After India-EU Summit, Is a Free Trade Agreement on the Cards?

    News18: Even as the European Union has got politically weakened by Brexit, internal tensions between western European countries and eastern ones, notably Hungary and Poland, over issues of democracy and European values, problems of migration, Islamism, terrorism and rise of right-wing forces, and, in addition, economically enfeebled by the still-uncontrolled COVID crisis, India has decided to draw closer to it, driven by its own political and economic challenges. Read more

    EAC Secretary General promises to increase intra-regional trade from 20% to 50% in the next five years

    EAC: The EAC Secretary General, Hon (Dr.) Peter Mathuki has promised the business community in the region that he will do everything within his power to address the vice of Non-Tariff Barriers to trade and trade wars, and work towards raising the volume of intra-regional trade from the current level of below 20% to more than 50% over the next five years. Read more

    Cotonou 2.0: A bad trade deal for Africa?

    DW: The new EU-OACPS Partnership Agreement is only a few weeks old, but already many in Africa are calling for an update. What are the reasons for the dissatisfaction? Read more

    Impact of COVID-19 on financing of free trade in Africa assessed

    ESI Africa: African Export-Import Bank, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership have released a special African Trade Finance Survey Report assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade finance in Africa. Read more

    Kazungula Bridge to boost regional trade and commerce

    AllAfrica: The recently constructed 923-metre-long rail and road Kazungula bridge, linking Zambia and Botswana, was inaugurated on Monday in an effort to boost bilateral and regional trade. The bridge across the Zambezi River, co-financed by the two governments, is expected to boost trade and commerce between the two countries as well as increase economic activities and prospects of other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, DRC and Mozambique. Read more

    Belarus, South Africa to strengthen business contacts

    BELTA: Belarus and South Africa plan to strengthen business contacts. The matter was discussed during the online meeting of the representatives of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BelCCI) with President of the South African Chamber of Commerce Mtho Xulu, BelTA learned from the BelCCI website. Read more

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    The Caribbean Trade & Development Digest is a weekly trade news digest produced and published by the Caribbean Trade Law & Development Blog. Liked this issue? To read past issues, please visit here. To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please subscribe to our Blog below:

  • Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – February 14 – 21, 2021

    Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – February 14 – 21, 2021

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest for the week of February 14-21, 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.

    THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    It’s official! Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the new WTO Director General-elect and will assume office on March 1. A well-respected and world-renowned development economist, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala will not only become the seventh person to head the WTO, but makes history as the first female and first person from Africa in the role. Noteworthy as well is that Isabelle Durant is now acting Secretary General of UNCTAD. This means that all three of the major organisations focused on global trade – the WTO, UNCTAD and ITC – are now headed by women! To read the statement by Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to a special session of the WTO’s General Council, click here.

    The evaluation report on the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement for the period 2008-2018 has been made public and can now be accessed here.

    This week the EU also released a communication outlining the elements that will comprise its new “open, sustainable and assertive trade strategy” in the mid-term. Read more about it here.

    The US has officially rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, 107 days after the Trump Administration pulled the country out of the pact. Read my article on this here.

    Coming up this week will be the 32nd Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Trade case filed by Belize against Federation withdrawn from Caribbean Court of Justice

    St Kitts & Nevis Observer: Minister of International Trade et al, the Honourable Wendy Phipps, said diplomacy and negotiations by the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Office of the Solicitor General, St. Kitts and Nevis has been successful in having the Government of Belize, through its Ministry of International Trade, withdraw the recent case from the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Read more

    SKNLP: Brown sugar price to rise by 40% in St Kitts and Nevis

    WIC News: The government led by Harris announced in parliament on Thursday 18 February 2021 that the government has now applied a 40% tax on imported brown sugar, which will significantly increase costs for people, alleged St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) in its statement. Read more

    Cabinet approves $50m export booster

    TT Guardian: Cabinet has approved a TT$50 million export booster initiative for the manufacturing sector, the objective of which is to promote exports of manufactured goods. Read more

    No improvements until Customs, industry on same page

    TT Newsday: If the ease of doing business in this country is to improve, facilities involved in the trade, such as Customs, must be on the same page as the industries driving the economy.. This was one of the major takeaways from Amcham’s latest webinar titled Ease of Doing Business – Trade Modernisation on Monday. Read more

    Gopee-Scoon: Steel, feed prices will go down, hopefully

    TT Newsday: Trade minister Paula Gopee-Scoon is hopeful that, as the worldwide demand for items such as steel and key ingredients used to make feed normalises, so will their prices. Read more

    Trade Ministry allocates $20m for SME certification

    TT Newsday: The Trade Ministry, in conjuction with the TT Manufacturers’ Association and ExporTT, on Tuesday launched the National Export Booster Initiative, a suite of 16 programmes to enhance export promotion, capacity building and institutional strengthening within the manufacturing sector. Read more

    Trade Licence Unit modernising operations

    LoopTT: Moving from paper to digital, the Trade Licence Unit (TLU) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry has achieved a significant milestone in its modernisation efforts to further improve T&T’s trade and business environment. Read more

    The Power of Partnership! Local Cocoa and Chocolate Cluster Program Takes Steps to Revolutionize the Industry

    ExportTT: Ubergreen Organics Ltd. is the lead organisation of a newly formed Organic Fine Cocoa and Chocolate Cluster. One of its main goals is to increase excellence and quality within the industry through partnership. Read more

    CET for Panadol not approved

    TT Newsday: Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon has said suspension of the Common External Tariff was sought on hundreds of items, but Panadol was not approved. Read more

    Global testing standards goal set for next year

    Barbados Today: Export-oriented businesses in Barbados, Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis will be offered globally standardised testing at domestic laboratories as early as next year, says Daniel Best, Director of Project Department at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). Read more

    Developing Barbados’ yachting sector

    BGIS: The development of Barbados’ yachting sector could see the creation of new jobs and possibilities. Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy, Kirk Humphrey, made this revelation as he disclosed that Government was preparing to take a paper to Cabinet on yachting to improve the sector. Read more

    CARICOM-Canada foreign ministers discuss post COVID-19 economic recovery

    St Kitts & Nevis Observer: Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Foreign Ministers met virtually on February 19 with their Canadian counterpart, the Hon. Marc Garneau, in the first virtual CARICOM-Canada Meeting of Foreign Ministers. St. Kitts and Nevis was represented by Foreign Minister, the Honourable Mark Brantley. Read more

    CARICOM is preparing a joint policy on tourism

    Prensa Latina: The countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are currently working on outlining a joint tourism policy in order to revive this key sector for the region’s economies. Read more

    CARICOM insists on equitable distribution of vaccines

    Cayman Compass: As regional neighbours begin the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, 14 independent CARICOM states have insisted, in a resolution adopted Wednesday, on the equitable distribution of doses. Read more

    CARICOM asks WHO to host meeting on COVID vaccine distribution

    Nation News: The 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Thursday reiterated its call for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to host an international summit on distribution of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. Read more

    Prime Minister Minnis leads CARICOM meeting on Joint Tourism Policy

    CARICOM: Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis chaired the First Meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Tourism to discuss the development of a Joint Tourism Policy for CARICOM. Read more

    Connecting & Collaborating: Establishing New Business Relationships

    Now Grenada: Address by Prime Minister of Grenada Dr The Rt Hon. Keith Mitchell at the Virtual Caribbean Business Forum – Connecting & Collaborating: Establishing New Business Relationships, 17 February 2021. Read more

    OECS to facilitate high-level WTO fisheries workshop

    MENAFN: With the support of the Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission will be convening a high-level workshop on the ongoing World Trade Organization (WTO) fisheries subsidies negotiations on February 24-25, 2021. Read more

    Regional forum on supply chain management

    Barbados Today: Global trade is in flux, and Caribbean companies are facing huge risks. The big question is: How will they plan for future disruptions, and adapt to more agile systems? To answer this, The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Five Islands Campus, in Antigua and Barbuda, will be hosting “Supply Chain Management and Logistics in a Post-COVID-19 Caribbean” on Monday, February 22, 2021, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Eastern Caribbean time). Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    Building back better requires more women in international trade

    Globe and Mail History is being made as Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes the first woman and first African to ever lead the 26-year-old World Trade Organization (WTO). As the world grapples with how to “build back better,” a female director-general steering the global trading ship sends a powerful message: The world needs better trade outcomes and trade needs women on board. Read more

    Brexit: Are freight exports to the EU back to normal?

    BBC: The government says the volume of freight exports from Great Britain to the European Union has returned to normal, in spite of the new post-Brexit barriers to trade with the EU, and restrictions related to the pandemic. Read more

    Ports feel the chill as trade re-routes around Brexit Britain

    Guardian: In Holyhead, traffic has fallen 50% as hauliers stymied by Brexit find their way from Ireland to France without entering the UK. Read more

    The EU says it’s going to get tough on trade — and that could have ramifications for U.S., China

    CNBC: The European Union will take a new approach to international trade, recognizing that it’s time to stand up for itself after challenging times with countries like the U.S. Read more

    How European businesses are adapting to Brexit

    BBC: It’s been almost two months since the UK’s post-Brexit free trade deal with the EU came into effect. Under the new rules, European companies must directly pay UK sales tax, or VAT, on sales under £135 (€155; $190), so they now have to register and file quarterly declarations with the UK authorities. Other changes include customs declarations and additional paperwork. So how have they adapted so far and what impact have the changes had? Read more

    EU puts WTO at centre of greener trade reform push

    Reuters: The European Union put reform of the World Trade Organization at the heart of its trade strategy for the next decade on Thursday, saying global rules on commerce must be greener, take more account of state subsidies and be enforced. Read more

    EU trade chief warns Biden over ‘Buy American’ push

    Politico.EU: Valdis Dombrovskis says EU will track whether US is straying outside WTO commitments. Read more

    Here’s why China’s trade deal with Mauritius matters

    World Economic Forum: 2021 marks the start of two important trade policy developments in Africa. Firstly, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been signed by 54 of 55 African Union member states and ratified by 31 so far. Read more

    India, Mauritius trade agreement receives green light from Cabinet

    New Indian Express: In such agreements, the two trading partners cut or eliminate duties on a host of products besides liberalising norms to promote services trade. Read more

    RCEP free trade deal will have no major impact on US soybean, corn exports to China: USDA

    Hellenic Shipping News: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world’s largest free trade pact that China joined in late 2020 and which will likely take effect from mid-2021, will not have any major impact on US soybean and corn exports to China in the near future, the US Department of Agriculture said Feb. 17. Read more

    Canada, Indonesia Trade Talks Begin for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

    ASEAN Briefing: On January 11, 2021, Canada’s Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion, and International Trade, Mary Ng, announced that the country has launched public consultations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Indonesia. Read more

    Wamkele Mene: ‘AfCFTA is going to be difficult but we’ve got to do it’

    The Africa Report: The AfCFTA secretary general talks to The Africa Report about the continental trade bloc’s January launch, forging value chains and diplomatic challenges ahead. Read more

    Private sector firms join push for AfCFTA agenda

    The East African: Private sector lobbies in Africa’s six regional trading blocs have formed the African Business Council, a continental umbrella body to spearhead the business agenda for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Read more

    Six Reasons why Africa’s new free trade area is a global game changer

    Namibia Economist: Launched on 1 January, the AfCFTA is an exciting game changer. Currently, Africa accounts for just 2% of global trade. And only 17% of African exports are intra-continental, compared with 59% for Asia and 68% for Europe. Read more

    Nigeria AfCFTA committee begins sensitisation on new trade agreement

    Business a.m.: The National Action Committee on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has flagged off a nationwide awareness and sensitisation tour targeted at placing Nigeria in a favourable position in the AfCFTA agreement. Read more

    How the AfCFTA impacts China-Africa trade relations

    CNBC Africa; The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement which launched operations on the 1st of January this year aims to accelerate intra-African trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market. Read more

    Ukraine, Japan start to negotiate free trade agreement

    Kyiv Post: Ukraine has started negotiating a free trade agreement with Japan with the aim of abolishing most import duties to strengthen their economic ties. Read more

    STRAIGHT FROM THE WTO

    NEW ON THE CTLD BLOG

    The Caribbean Trade & Development Digest is a weekly trade news digest produced and published by the Caribbean Trade Law & Development Blog. Liked this issue? To read past issues, please visit here. To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please subscribe to our Blog below:

  • Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – February 7 – 13, 2021 – The Love of Trade Edition!

    Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – February 7 – 13, 2021 – The Love of Trade Edition!

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – The Love of Trade Edition for the week of February 7-13, 2021! Happy Valentine’s Day to all readers who celebrate! If I were to pick a discipline as a Valentine, it would indeed be international trade! My love for this dynamic field just grows with each passing year!

    We are pleased to bring you the major trade and development news headlines and analysis from across the Caribbean Region and the world.

    THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    The five Micronesian member states of the Pacific Islands Forum have decided to leave the bloc as a result of the appointment of a Cook Islander as the new Secretary General, overlooking the Micronesian candidate. This development has led to questions on the bloc’s future. Read more here.

    Post-Brexit hiccups continue, with a British Chamber of Commerce survey finding that “half (49%) of exporters are facing difficulties in adapting to the changes in the trade of goods following the ratification of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on 1 January 2021”. Read more here.

    The UK Government has published a new series of fact sheets showing the UK’s trade and investment relationship with various countries, including those in the Caribbean. Read more here.

    UNCTAD released its Global Trade Update on February 10, finding that East Asia manufacturing is leading the global trade recovery. However, it further found that many developing countries have been lagging behind in their trade recovery. Read the full report here.

    Coming up this week on February 15, there will be a Special General Council Meeting at the WTO where Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will be confirmed as the organisation’s seventh Director-General.

    Turning regionally, kudos to the Government of India for its show of solidarity and friendship in donating doses of the Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccines to the Governments of Barbados and Dominica and to the Caribbean, upon initial engagement by Barbados and Dominica. In turn, Barbados donated 3,000 doses of the received vaccines to the Government of Guyana, including the CARICOM Secretariat which is headquartered in Guyana.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Project to help reduce barriers to trade

    Barbados Advocate: A regional project launched yesterday is intended to reduce barriers to trade and will aid fledgling manufacturers and other exporters. Read more

    Plans continue for UNCTAD XV

    Barbados Advocate: Plans are continuing apace for this island’s hosting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) later this year. Speaking in Parliament as an additional $2,280,000 was assigned to the event’s organisation, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn stated these funds were intended specifically for the procurement of security equipment. Read more

    Trade Policy Framework: Guyana

    UNCTAD: Trade policy encompasses the development and implementation of national laws, regulations, and standards to facilitate, promote or otherwise support trade relations between countries and the crossborder movement of tradeables. Effective trade policy is both a prerequisite for and a consequence of the negotiation and implementation of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements between and among countries. Read more

    Best for CARICOM to purchase Covid-19 vaccines as a group – experts advise

    Jamaica Gleaner: Two days ago, on the morning of Friday, February 12, Charles Savarin, the 77-year-old president of the sister Caribbean Community (CARICOM) state of Dominica, became the first person in his country to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Read more

    Caricom must order 20 million vaccines

    TT Newsday: Kiran Mathur Mohammed & Justin Ram argue that countries must join forces now to buy 20 million vaccine doses for the entire region, or the pandemic will continue to devastate our lives and economies for another two years. Read more

    New Bill approved

    Barbados Advocate: The Barbados Cabinet has approved the development of a new, comprehensive Metrology Bill to be enacted in legislation. Read more

    IMF: Pandemic resurgence threatens to thwart uneven Caribbean recovery

    IMF: The International Monetary Fund, IMF, says while Latin America and Caribbean economies managed to bounce back from COVID-19’s initial economic devastation in early 2020, the pandemic’s resurgence towards the end of the year threatens to thwart an uneven recovery and add to steep social and human costs. Read more

    Pay Attention to Maduro’s Aggression Against Guyana

    Real Clear World: In late January, the Venezuelan Navy intercepted and detained two Guyanese fishing vessels and 12 Guyanese citizens for two weeks. The detainment was the result of a recent decree issued by Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    Pacific Forum split could cost region’s global role

    RNZ: Breaking up the Pacific Islands Forum would be a lost opportunity to cement the region’s global leadership on climate change and ocean conservation. Read more

    New WTO chief faces rough road ahead

    Politico.eu: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will make history Monday when she becomes the first African and woman to lead the increasingly bruised and batteredWorld Trade Organization. Read more

    6 reasons why Africa’s new free trade area is a global game changer

    World Economic Forum: The arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 has rapidly reshaped countries, societies and communities. Our response to the pandemic has changed political and social systems and created new social norms. Read more

    A new WTO boss who understands Africa is a good thing for the global economy

    City A.M: After diplomatic horse-trading, the new head of the WTO has been all but confirmed – former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She will be the first African to take the role. The Rt. Hon. Mark Simmonds, a former Foreign Office minister with responsibility for the continent, argues it’s a good thing for the globe. Okonjo-Iweala’s familiarity with Nigeria’s struggles will make her a strong appointment to launch a truly global effort that spreads the benefits of freer trade. Read more

    UNCTAD releases data on over 1,000 investor-state arbitration cases

    UNCTAD: The data set, provided free of charge, covers all known cases of treaty-based investor-state arbitrations as of July 2020. Read more

    EU financial services chief warns of long road ahead for UK-EU equivalence deal

    City A.M: The EU’s financial services chief has warned the UK that “there cannot be equivalence and wide divergence” in financial regulation as the battle over the City’s future relationship with the bloc heats up. Read more

    UK and EU hold ‘frank but constructive’ talks on NI trade rules

    BBC: The UK and the EU have had a “frank but constructive discussion” on problems implementing post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland. Read more

    UK trade and investment factsheets

    UK.gov: A snapshot of the UK’s trade and investment positions with individual trading and investment partners overseas. Read more

    Exclusive: Brexit a bigger headache for business leaders than Covid pandemic

    City A.M: Brexit represents a bigger challenge to most UK businesses than the Covid-19 pandemic, as additional paperwork, unexpected costs and new regulatory requirements make life more difficult than temporary lockdowns. Read more

    Brexit: Trade friction ‘not teething problems’

    BBC: Increased friction in trade and travel with Europe is a product of “political choices”, a Welsh minister has said. Read more

    Half of UK exporters to EU are having Brexit difficulties, survey finds

    Guardian: Half of British exporters to the EU are facing difficulties with mounting Brexit red tape and border disruption after a month of the new rules, according to one of the most comprehensive business surveys since leaving the bloc. Read more

    Improving access to medical products through trade

    UNCTAD: Based on a review of 107 RTAs and an examination of country efforts to reduce regulatory divergence in order to facilitate trade in medical goods during the pandemic, this study attempts to advance the discussion on the need for emergency provisions in RTAs, culminating into a proposal for model RTA provisions. Read more

    Chinese tech giants like Kuaishou are listing in Hong Kong instead of U.S. after Trump’s trade war

    CNBC: Venture firm DCM just generated a $16 billion return from the IPO of Chinese social media app Kuaishou. The listing took place in Hong Kong rather than in the U.S., and DCM co-founder David Chao expects China’s most prominent tech start-ups to follow suit. Read more

    China’s trade sanctions on Australian agriculture force farmers to find new markets

    ABC (Australia): Farmers who fell victim to the multi-billion-dollar China-Australia trade spat are seeing signs for optimism as they find new customers for their produce. Read more

    Kenya, Uganda renew milk export dispute as ties sour

    Business Daily: Kenya and Uganda trade relations are on the verge of straining once again with Kampala accusing Nairobi of stopping its milk from accessing the country, and threatening to drag the matter to the East African Court of Justice. Read more

    China-Australia relations: Africa’s winemakers, miners toast ‘potential’ of trade dispute

    SCMP: For South African winemaker Vergenoegd Löw, the coronavirus pandemic could have been a disaster, but a bitter trade war between China and Australia has thrown the 325-year-old estate a lifeline. Read more

    China-Australia relations: iron ore prices helped offset weakened trade with China in 2020

    SCMP: Australia’s export figures for the final month of a tumultuous past year confirmed that momentum slowed in some trade with China amid various restrictions, but unbarred exports remained strong and buoyed overall trade between the two countries, according to the final December trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Read more

    East Asian economies drive global trade recovery, says UNCTAD report

    MenaFM: Led by trade in goods, global trade recovered in the last quarter of 2020, reducing its overall decline for the year to about 9 percent, according to UNCTAD’s new Global Trade Update published on February 10. Read more

    Strong EU trade enforcement rules enter into force

    EU: Robust new trade enforcement rules have entered into force that will further strengthen the EU’s toolbox in defending its interests. With the update of the EU’s Trade Enforcement Regulation, the EU is able to act in a broader range of circumstances. Read more

    STRAIGHT FROM THE WTO

    NEW ON THE CTLD BLOG

    The Caribbean Trade & Development Digest is a weekly trade news digest produced and published by the Caribbean Trade Law & Development Blog. Liked this issue? To read past issues, please visit here. To receive these mailings directly to your inbox, please subscribe to our Blog below:

  • Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – October 25 – October 31, 2020

    Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest – October 25 – October 31, 2020

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of October 25-31, 2020! For October, we are going pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month! 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.

    THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    The big news this week was that although WTO members indicated a strong preference for candidate from Nigeria, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to lead the WTO, the US blocked Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s selection who is also ironically a naturalised US citizen. The USTR’s statement objecting to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment, while confirming support for candidate South Korea Trade Minister Yoo Myung Hee, can be viewed here. Therefore, as this Bloomberg report notes, the WTO DG race’s fate now depends on the outcome of Tuesday’s US presidential election.

    The 41st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held virtually on 29 October 2020. The items discussed included COVID-19’s impact on the region, a Caribbean Economic Recovery and Transformation (CERT) Plan, EU blacklisting, a regional tourism policy, inter alia. Read the full communique here.

    Happening this week: Americans officially go to the polls to vote for their next president. A record over 90 million Americans and counting have already cast their ballot in early voting or by mail-in ballot. Read my article on why this election cycle is particularly important for the Caribbean here.

    Regionally, St Vincent and the Grenadines will be holding their elections this week on November 5. On October 31, St. Kitts & Nevis becomes the latest and one of the last Caribbean countries to re-open its borders. Read more here.

    Last week I also had the pleasure and honour of being a panelist at the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) Global Business Week Conference on the panel entitled “New Opportunities for trade to and from Barbados“. Thank you to the organizers, excellent moderator and awesome fellow panelists for what was a very stimulating session.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    UN SG Calls For A Vulnerability Index For CARICOM

    News Americas Now: Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, is calling for a multidimensional vulnerability index that will help CARICOM countries. Read more

    Cuba Says US Sanctions Have Caused Nearly $5.6B In Losses

    Jamaica Gleaner: Cuba said Thursday that the island has lost nearly $5.6 billion in one year as a result of economic sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump. Read more

    High interest in intra-regional travel

    Barbados Advocate: Persons eager to visit countries within’ the bubble’, says travel advisor. Country Manager of Going Places Travel Barbados, Alana Gray, says there have been many enquiries for travel within the travel bubble. Read more

    Multilateral financial institutions have failed Caribbean countries: Robinson

    Barbados Advocate: University of the West Indies (The UWI) economist, Dr. Justin Robinson, has lashed out at the multilateral financial institutions, saying that they had failed small countries just when they require financing to get out of their present predicament. Read more

    First ship to arrive at Bridgetown Port on Sunday

    Barbados Today: Barbados will this weekend welcome its first cruise passengers since the global suspension of cruise in March this year. Read more

    Barbados International Business Sector showing resilience

    Barbados Advocate: The International Business and Financial Services sector, despite the current COVID-19 pandemic, is demonstrating its resilience by performing reasonably well under the current circumstances. Read more

    Jamaica earns US$250M from Tourism for June to September period

    Jamaica Star: Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett has disclosed that Jamaica has earned just over US$250 million since the island’s borders reopened in June. Read more

    Guyana sets new oil discovery record – now the largest new conventional liquids play in the last decade

    Kaieteur News: The Yellowtail-2 and Redtail discoveries which were made in July and September respectively have pushed Guyana’s recoverable estimate to approximately nine billion oil equivalent resources. In light of this development, Guyana is now the largest new conventional liquids play in the last decade says Senior Vice President at ExxonMobil, Jack Williams. Read more

    Guyana Gov’t negotiating with CARICOM on better export market access for farmers

    Stabroek: In a bid to assist local farmers access regional export markets, the Guy-ana government is in discussions with the Carib-bean Community (CARICOM) in hopes of securing the relaxation or removal altogether of what it sees as some rigid non-tariff measures on local food produce, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha has said. Read more

    ‘CARICOM Bubble’ statistics being monitored to evaluate COVID-19 cases

    St Kitts & Nevis: St. Kitts and Nevis has the intends to participate in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Bubble and has been monitoring what is happening in the eight participating territories, says Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hazel Laws, speaking at the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC)/Border Reopening Press Briefing on October 28. Read more

    CARICOM divided on Venezuela at OAS assembly

    NY Carib News: Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries were divided on the issue of “free and fair” elections in Venezuela, with The Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, and St Lucia all voting in favor of the resolution tabled at the 50th General assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS) that ended here on Wednesday. Read more

    CARICOM establishes regional Food Security Task Force

    Loop Barbados: The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has sought to address the region’s concerns about food security through the establishment of a Food Security Task Force. Read more

    Trinidad & Tobago Govt pushing female entrepreneurs

    Trinidad & Tobago Express: Trinidad & Tobago is the first country in the Caribbean to officially launch SheTrades, an initiative of the International Trade Centre (ITC), which is now part of a community of over 25 countries working towards connecting over three million women entrepreneurs to global markets by 2021. Read more

    Western Union to close in Cuba following new US sanctions

    Jamaica Observer: US-based money transfer company Western Union will close its offices in Cuba following new sanctions from Washington which prevent it from working with Fincimex, a financial company run by the island’s military, Havana said yesterday. Read more

    RUBiS enters petrochemical export market

    Jamaica Observer: RUBiS Energy Jamaica Limited recently dispatched the island’s first export shipment of petrochemicals — a move which sees the country becoming the first in the region to undertake such a venture due to its terminal and storage infrastructure. Read more

    Caribbean Export and WIRSPA partner on the Absolutely Caribbean Virtual Expo

    EU Reporter: Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) and the West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA) are working together to support increased trade of rum and spirits between the Caribbean and Europe with the Absolutely Caribbean Virtual Expo, scheduled for 17-18 November. Read more

    ACS States with new Secretary-General

    Prensa Latina: Panamanian Rodolfo Sabonge began his four-year term of office as Secretary-General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) ‘under circumstances we never thought we would meet. Read more

    TT second largest regional supplier of medical products

    Newsday: A UNITED Nations (UN) country database shows that TT was the second largest supplier of medical products to other countries in the region after export restrictions from major suppliers created issues accessing critical medial supplies throughout the region. Read more

    Adjustments needed to the way we negotiate partnerships, says Marshall

    Barbados Today: One senior economist is calling for a review of how Barbados and other Caribbean states negotiate trade agreements with more developed nations. Dr Don Marshall, Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), said the time had come for small island developing states to raise issues relating to their vulnerabilities and other developmental concerns when discussing partnerships. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    CBI chief fires parting shot over slow pace of Brexit negotiations

    BBC: Carolyn Fairbairn says the UK economy is in ‘suspended animation’ while issue remain unresolved. Read more

    Brexit talks making good progress, says Ursula Von der Leyen

    The Guardian: European commission president says key issues are level playing field and fisheries. Read more

    Brexit deal hangs in the balance, says EU council president

    The Guardian: Outcome of next two weeks of talks crucial but uncertain, says Charles Michel. Read more

    Chatham House speech: Liz Truss sets out vision for values-driven free trade

    Gov.uk: International Trade Secretary Liz Truss delivers the keynote speech at Chatham House’s ‘Global Trade Live’ event setting out her vision for UK trade policy. Read more

    Liz Truss: NHS ‘off the table’ in Brexit talks with US

    City AM: International trade secretary Liz Truss has insisted the NHS remains “off the table” in post-Brexit trade talks with the US, as the government scrambles to shore up relations with presidential hopeful Joe Biden ahead of next week’s election. Read more

    Trump’s phase one trade deal with China and the US election

    PIIE: President Donald Trump has staked a claim to success in his trade war with China on his phase one trade agreement of January 2020. In his self-proclaimed “historic” deal, China committed to purchasing an additional $200 billion of American-made goods and services over 2020 and 2021. Trump has even boasted that the deal “could be closer to $300 billion when it finishes.” Read more

    US moves closer to expanding tech export controls list as competition with China for future technology builds

    South China Morning Post: Commerce Department moves closer in seeking industry input to identify, define and set criteria for technology that will be subject to export controls. Read more

    Thailand expresses full support for WTO reforms

    The Guardian: Thailand has voiced full support for the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) reforms to make the intergovernmental body aware of trade situations and that would enable it to accelerate the global economic recovery following the pandemic. Read more

    A Biden Win Could Renew a Democratic Split on Trade

    NY Times: Democrats have been unified by their desire to oust President Trump. But if that happens, deep divisions on the issue of trade are likely to reappear. Read more

    China has a golden opportunity to show global leadership, with a WTO fisheries deal

    South China Morning Post: China is a fishing superpower. If Beijing is truly committed to a rules-based multilateral trading system, it must show leadership in securing a meaningful WTO agreement to tackle global fishing subsidies and curb overfishing. Read more

    EU strengthens trade enforcement arsenal with revamped regulation

    EU: Today, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on reinforcing the EU’s Enforcement Regulation. As part of the agreement, the Commission committed to developing the EU’s anti-coercion mechanism swiftly. Read more

    Trump Trade Policy Gets Failing Grades

    Forbes: Donald Trump may believe his trade agenda is a success, but a new analysis gives his administration’s trade policies poor marks. The analysis finds the Trump administration’s policy of raising tariffs and misusing U.S. trade laws have harmed consumers, disrupted supply chains and failed to achieve objectives that are important to the United States. Read more

    Biden Or Trump, Next 4 Years For Canada-U.S. Trade Will Be ‘Bumpy’

    Huffpost: Protectionism is rearing its head again in the United States, leaving the Trudeau minority government to figure out ways to work with an unpredictable neighbour. Read more

    Canadian Ambassador to U.S. says there is no justification to change border restrictions

    CTV: Canada’s Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman said there is no justification to ease the Canada-U.S. land border restrictions any time soon. Speaking to CTV’s Power Play on Friday, Hillman stressed that either country is not prepared to loosen border restrictions before 2021. Read more

    What would a Joe Biden presidency mean for a UK-US post-Brexit trade deal?

    iTV: With the US presidential election days away, focus is shifting to what priorities the winner will have during their four years in power at the White House. Read more

    Cruz, Cornyn Complain to Trump That Mexico Is Undermining USMCA

    Bloomberg: US senators Cruz and Cornyn sent a letter to President Trump arguing that Mexico’s energy policy undermines the spirit of the USMCA trade agreement. Read more

    African trade finance banks urge MDBs to take on greater levels of risk

    Global Trade Review: Trade finance executives across Africa are urging multilateral development banks (MDBs) to “intervene decisively” and boost credit support to banks on the continent as a potential insolvency crisis looms. Read more

    S. Korea, Mongolia to lower tariffs starting 2021 under regional trade pact

    Korea Times: South Korea and Mongolia will lower tariffs on some products starting next year, as Ulaanbaatar joined a regional trade pact known as the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), Seoul’s finance ministry said Friday. Read more

    China-Mongolia trade to benefit from Mongolia’s APTA membership

    Xinhua: China and Mongolia are expecting lower tariffs in bilateral trade after Mongolia’s recent accession to the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), China’s Ministry of Commerce said Monday. 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: