Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Tag: trade

  • Barbados announces Post-COVID-19 Foreign Policy and Trade Strategy

    Barbados announces Post-COVID-19 Foreign Policy and Trade Strategy

    Alicia Nicholls

    Barbados will make expanding trade levels and deepening cooperation with both traditional and non-traditional partners central planks of its post-COVID-19 economic recovery strategy. These goals were announced as part of a suite of foreign policy and foreign trade initiatives elaborated by Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Senator Dr. The Hon. Jerome Walcott in a COVID-19 press briefing held on Saturday, March 13, 2021.

    Among these new initiatives is the opening of new diplomatic missions, including in Ghana, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. The Kenya mission, which will be a joint Caricom mission, will be accredited to the United Nations office in Kenya and to other East African countries.

    Commercial diplomacy will be an important tool in the Government’s tool kit with the announcement of the appointment of a Commercial and Cultural Officer for the new High Commission in Ghana and a Diaspora Officer for the UK mission. The Minister also noted that commercial attaches will be deployed in other missions over time.

    The new strategy will see greater use of digital technologies in Barbados’ diplomatic engagement efforts and greater focus on leveraging the Barbados diaspora, particularly for harnessing investment, entrepreneurship and philanthropy.

    Barbados will be deepening its relationships with traditional partners such as other CARICOM Member States, the US and Europe. There will be a focus as well on developing closer relationships with non-traditional partners in the EU.

    South-South cooperation will continue to be a priority for Barbados as it cultivates relationships with newer partners such as China and countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Barbados will also deploy a Latin America strategy and will leverage its Panama Embassy.

    Additionally, Barbados will continue to promote the principles of multilateralism, diplomacy and cooperation. It will work with all interested partners, particularly on issues of deep development significance to the island and region such as climate change, debt and the development of a multidimensional vulnerability index for determining eligibility for concessional aid and other development assistance.

    Barbados’ focus on trade as part of its recovery efforts is a welcomed and not surprising step. Barbados is a small open economy highly dependent on the import of products and running continuous trade deficits.

    The Covid-19 shock was a body blow to an economy that is already undergoing a homegrown IMF-sanctioned economic recovery and transformation programme but has so far been performing well according to the programme targets. The Covid-19 induced sudden drop in tourist arrivals was a significant factor in the economy’s near 18% contraction in 2020, according to the Central Bank of Barbados Review of the Barbados Economy for 2020. While tourism is unlikely to be replaced as the country’s main foreign exchange earner anytime soon, what is indeed needed is the expansion of exports in other sectors, particularly high-value added sectors.

    The focus on trade expansion however must be moored to a coherent and well-articulated development strategy if it is to achieve the objective of contributing to a resilient, inclusive and sustainable post-Covid-19 recovery. It must be supported by and linked to equally coherent industrial and investment policies. After all, we do not seek to increase trade just for its sake but with the aim of promoting development through greater job creation, foreign exchange inflows, promotion of economic activity and poverty alleviation.

    I personally eagerly look forward to the implementation of these initiatives. I also hope there will be data available so evidence-based monitoring and evaluation of the policies can be done to ascertain their efficacy.

    For further information, please see this press release and a link to the recorded statement by Minister Walcott on the Barbados Government Information Service website here.

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B is an international trade and development specialist. Read more of her commentaries here or follow her on Twitter @licylaw. All views expressed herein are her personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of any institution or entity with which she may from time to time be affiliated.

  • 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 & Development News Digest – January 1-16, 2021

    Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – January 1-16, 2021

    Happy New Year! Welcome to the first Caribbean Trade and Development News Digest for 2021! We do hope that you had a great start to the year so far. We are pleased to bring you the major trade and development news headlines and analysis from across the Caribbean Region and the world from January 1 – 16, 2021.

    WHAT’S HAPPENED IN TRADE SINCE DECEMBER 2020?

    Since our last digest was published near the end of December 2020, some major trade developments have occurred, including on the Brexit, AfCFTA and other fronts. If you missed them, then catch up on these developments in my update article here.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Re-examining Caribbean-Chinese relations

    Global Americans: Too often, United States government officials and scholars have characterized China’s relationship with Caribbean nations as a one-way affair in which the former, as a malign foreign actor, takes advantage of the latter, a small and weak group of states. Read more

    Minister aiming to expand reach of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

    Jamaica Observer: Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green is aiming to expand the reach of the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee brand internationally and increase production of coffee locally. Read more

    Yvor Nassief | The Ongoing Caricom Soap Saga – Dominican Producer Outlines Concerns With Jamaican Soap Imports & Exports

    Jamaica Gleaner: The recent press coverage of the decision by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) that companies in Jamaica are not eligible to receive certificates of origin for their soap exports, thereby not enjoying duty-free access to Caricom, is one-sided and contains inaccuracies and misrepresentations. I seek to clarify some of these. Read more

    Royal Caribbean will offer cruises from Barbados in December 2021

    Royal Caribbean Blog: Royal Caribbean announced it will begin offering roundtrip cruises from Barbados at the end of 2021 on Grandeur of the Seas. Read more

    Guyana signs on to new trade, investment agreement with UK

    Jamaica Observer: Guyana has officially signed on to the new agreement that will govern trade and investment between the United Kingdom and the CARIFORUM group of countries following the UK’s exit from the European Union. Read more

    US takes sterner action against Exxon’s Chinese partner in Guyana, unlikely to affect local operations

    Stabroek: The Trump administration in its waning days took another swipe at China and its biggest firms yesterday including ExxonMobil’s Guyana partner, CNOOC for alleged misdeeds in the South China Sea. Read more

    Guyana, US security pact to reel in illegal fishing

    Stabroek: A defence partnership agreement was signed yesterday between Guyana and the United States and it is expected to ensure increased safeguards against illegal fishing in this country’s waters. Read more

    CARICOM could source COVID-19 vaccines from the African Union

    Jamaica Observer: The Caribbean Community (Caricom) has been offered access to approved COVID-19 vaccines from a shipment recently secured by the African Union. Read more

    Guyana holds talks on difficulties exporting agri, poultry products to T&T

    Newsroom: Guyana on Friday convened a virtual Joint Ministerial Trade and Agricultural Meeting with Trinidad and Tobago to discuss market access difficulties experienced by Guyana when exporting agricultural and poultry products to the twin-island republic. Read more

    Trinidad & Tobago manufacturers support trade ministry action on cement industry

    Trinidad Guardian: The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) has come out in support of recent moves by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to ensure fair trade practices in the cement industry. Read more

    Trinidad & Tobago Gov’t gets to work on reviving manufacturing sector

    Loop TT: The Ministry of Trade and Industry said it’s encouraged by emerging signs of resurgence in the manufacturing sector as noted in the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago’s (CBTT) December Monetary Policy Announcement. Read more

    Trade Ministry lists support for manufacturing

    TT Newsday: Government remains committed to the well-being and expansion of the local manufacturing sector as well as ongoing and future collaborations with the private sector, the Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement on Friday. Read more

    Mondello: TT, US can start new chapter under Biden

    TT Newsday: Days ahead of the swearing-in of Joe Biden as new US president next Wednesday, outgoing US ambassador Joseph Mondello hoped TT and the US could use the change to strengthen their relationship. Read more

    New CARICOM manufacturing body gets to work

    Barbados Today: A new regional manufacturers association has been launched in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to help promote regional manufacturers. The founding members are the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association (BMA), the Dominican Manufacturers’ Association, the Guyana Manufacturers’ and Services Association, the Jamaica Manufacturers’ and Exporters Association, the St Lucia Manufacturers’ Association and the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association. Read more

    BVI loses access to EU funding

    BVI News: The BVI and other British Overseas Territories will no longer have access to any future funding for sustainable development from the European Union as the UK’s Brexit deal took effect on January 1, 2021. Read more

    Belize exports 16,000 lbs of chicken to CARICOM

    Amandala: On December 23, Belize exported its first-ever shipment of poultry products to the CARICOM region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Immigration, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, announced that 16,000 pounds of chicken cuts were exported to Grenada. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    What Does 2021 Hold for Global Trade?

    Brink News: How will the expected economic recovery impact trade? Will the Biden administration maintain current President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China? Has globalization been fundamentally altered by the pandemic? BRINK invited Nicolas Lamp, a global trade expert based at the Faculty of Law of Queen’s University Canada, to share his thoughts on what trends to expect in 2021. Read more

    Air travel down 60 per cent, as airline industry losses top $370 billion: ICAO

    UN: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said on Friday, that as seating capacity fell by around 50 per cent last year, that left just 1.8 billion passengers taking flights through 2020, compared with around 4.5 billion in 2019. That adds up to a staggering financial loss to the industry of around $370 billion, “with airports and air navigation services providers losing a further 115 billion and 13 billion, respectively”, said ICAO in a press statement. Read more

    Biden aims for new course on trade, breaking with Trump and Democratic predecessors

    WP: It may not take long for President-elect Joe Biden to distinguish his trade policy from his predecessor’s “America First” approach. Read more

    U.S.-China trade war has cost up to 245,000 U.S. jobs: business group study

    Reuters: U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with China has caused a peak loss of 245,000 U.S. jobs, but a gradual scaling back of tariffs on both sides would boost growth and lead to an additional 145,000 jobs by 2025, a study commissioned by the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) shows. Read more

    US-China trade war deal reaches first anniversary as bilateral mistrust hits ‘all-time high’

    SCMP: One year after signing, China lags far behind in its purchases of American goods and the trade imbalance with the US has grown. Read more

    Exclusive: UK eyes adding climate provisions in US trade talks to woo Joe Biden

    City A.M: The UK will try to add new provisions on climate change and environmental standards in US trade negotiations in a bid to woo incoming President Joe Biden. Trade secretary Liz Truss wants to build on current negotiations with the Donald Trump administration and potentially add things like enhanced protections on air pollution and corporate transparency on climate change to coax Biden’s team to the negotiating table. Read more

    Keep tariffs on China, says outgoing US trade chief

    CNA: Outgoing US President Donald Trump’s trade chief on Monday (Jan 11) urged President-elect Joe Biden to maintain tariffs imposed on China, arguing that they have shifted the balance of power in Washington’s favour. Read more

    US suspends tariffs against French goods over digital service tax

    Reuters: US had proposed tariffs on $1.3bn worth of French goods in retaliation for French tax on tech firms. Read more

    France wants suspension of ‘poisonous’ U.S.-Europe trade spat

    Financial Post: The European Union and the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should suspend a trade dispute to give themselves time to find common ground, France’s foreign minister said in remarks published on Sunday. Read more

    UPDATE 1-USTR says Vietnam’s currency actions ‘unreasonable’ but holds off on tariffs

    Reuters: The Trump administration on Friday said Vietnam’s actions to push down the value of its currency are “unreasonable” and restrict U.S. commerce, but is not taking immediate action to impose punitive tariffs. Read more

    Canada’s international trade slows in weakening recovery

    Bloomberg: Canada’s merchandise trade deficit remained at historically elevated levels in November, as exports and imports slowed amid a weakening global recovery. Read more

    After months of COVID delays, African free trade bloc launches

    Al Jazeera: After months of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the African Continental Free Trade Area launches, but full implementation of the historic pact may take years. Read more

    INTERVIEW | What Africa must do to make the AfCFTA work – Trudi Hartzenberg

    African Newspage: Trudi Hartzenberg is the executive director of the Stellenbosch, South Africa-based Trade Law Centre (TRALAC), focused on improving capacity in trade governance in Africa. Hartzenberg, who currently serves on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Chairs Advisory Committee is also a member of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), a subsidiary of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Read more

    AfCFTA: Three details to note as the largest free-trade agreement kicks off in Africa

    Face2Face Africa: Headquartered in Accra, Ghana, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is now officially the largest free trade area by the number of participating countries since the founding of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. Read more

    Malawi deposits AfCFTA ratification to AU

    Xinhua: Malawi on Friday deposited its Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) ratification instrument to the African Union (AU) Commission as the number of African countries bound by the continental free trade pact grows. Read more

    African Business Council applauds the start of trading on the basis of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

    Africa News: On 1 January 2021, at the launch of the start of trading on the basis of the AfCFTA, the Pan-African Private Sector, under the umbrella body of the African Business Council (AfBC), issued a press statement in support of this initiative. In it, the AfBC acknowledged that the start of trading under the AfCFTA presents enormous business opportunities for the Pan-African Private Sector, SMEs, Women and Youths as the continent takes this bold move towards Boosting Intra-African Trade. Read more

    UK refused deal on post-Brexit travel for musicians, says Barnier

    Politico: Amid growing uproar in the U.K. over post-Brexit travel for touring musicians, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said the British government had rejected a clear offer from Brussels to carve out a special deal for performers. Read more

    UK trade minister seeks early meeting with U.S. trade czar on whisky tariffs

    Reuters: British trade minister Liz Truss said on Thursday she was seeking an early meeting with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to be his trade czar, Katherine Tai, to discuss tariffs on Scottish whisky. Read more

    Post-Brexit customs systems not fit for purpose, say meat exporters

    BBC: UK meat exporters have claimed post-Brexit customs systems are “not fit for purpose”, with goods delayed for hours, sometimes days, at the border. Read more

    20% of UK chemicals registrations face revocation after Brexit

    Euractiv: Around 20% of registrations from UK-based companies to the European Union’s REACH chemicals database have not been transferred to EU companies and will be revoked after 31 March 2021, according to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Read more

    Exclusive: European Commission battles to sell post-Cotonou deal at home

    Devex: After last month’s long-awaited “political deal” on a new agreement with 79 African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries, the European Commission is now facing another hurdle: its own member states. Read more

    EU trade official wants swift engagement with Biden on aircraft, digital taxes, WTO

    Reuters: The European Union is looking to engage quickly with the Biden administration to resolve major trade irritants, including disputes over digital taxes and commercial aircraft subsides, EU Director General for Trade Sabine Weyand said on Friday. Read more

    EU trade official wants swift engagement with Biden on aircraft, digital taxes, WTO

    Nasdaq: The European Union is looking to engage quickly with the Biden administration to resolve major trade irritants, including disputes over digital taxes and commercial aircraft subsides, EU Director General for Trade Sabine Weyand said on Friday. Read more

    Forget Brexit, the most important trade deal in 2021 is in Africa

    Euractiv: While the UK splinters away from the European Union, Africa is uniting under a landmark free trade agreement, making it one of the largest since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), writes Debisi Araba. Read more

    Interview: Global trade system reform vital to economic recovery, says Australian economist

    Xinhua: The reform of the global trade system is significant for the world’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and long-term economic growth, a senior Australian economist has said. Read more

    A new administration: US sanctions trends for 2021

    GTR: A raft of new US sanctions guidance and designations made 2020 a challenging year for banks involved in trade finance, yet the overall value of financial penalties handed out was low. GTR speaks to legal experts about recent enforcement trends, the challenges facing trade finance lenders, and the likely impact of the incoming Biden administration. Read more

    China’s cross-border e-commerce plays vital role in global trade amid pandemic

    CGTN: China’s cross-border e-commerce is becoming the latest driving engine for the country’s foreign trade, which gained great momentum last year in a time of COVID-19 recessions. Read more

    Deadlines and Decisions for American Trade in 2021

    US Chamber: As the pandemic and recession hopefully begin to give way to vaccines and recovery in 2021, the U.S. Chamber’s International Affairs Division is focused on the issues that will dominate international economic policy in the months ahead. Read more

    After Trump: What Will Biden Do on Trade?

    Council on Foreign Relations: President Trump disrupted U.S. trade policy in the name of better deals. President-Elect Biden proposes a combination of stronger domestic investment and better coordination with allies. Read more

    Creative economy to have its year in the sun in 2021

    UNCTAD: Here’s why the UN has dedicated a whole year to the creative economy and its critical role in promoting sustainable development, especially in a post-coronavirus world. Read more

    STRAIGHT FROM THE WTO

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