SRC Trading Thoughts
The SRC Trading Thoughts Column is a bimonthly issue produced at the SRC in which we, or contributing authors, provide critical views and thoughts on issues of ongoing interest in trade and investment, with a particular focus on the Caribbean.
If you would like to contribute as an author, please contact us.
Sign up for the SRC Trading Thoughts here.
Assessing the Impact of Barbados’ Proposed Data Protection Bill on the Barbadian Private Sector
By: Dean C. Forbes, Gabrielle Whitehall and Jan Yves N. Remy Today, more than 120 countries have privacy and data protection laws or regulations in place. Many of the new or modernized laws tend to be based on comprehensive legislation, rather than sectoral rules, as data needs to move across industry groups and borders. With its new data protection bill, Barbados is planning to join the ranks; this is a significant move, and it is one fueled at least in part by the entry into force of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) on May 25, 2018. The…
Read more »
Rough Seas or Smooth Sailing for UK-CARIFORUM Relations in No-Deal Brexit?
By: Nia Marshall A new Prime Minister is usually synonymous with new beginnings – setting clear economic and social objectives, and then creating a plan for achieving them. But ever since 2016, United Kingdom (UK) politics has been consumed largely with Brexit, leaving little policy space for other issues. Past Prime Minister Theresa May had an ambitious policy agenda that was overtaken by Brexit. Her mantra “Brexit means Brexit” was a misnomer because it failed to capture the complexities of detangling forty-five years of close ties to the European Union (EU). Prime Minister May’s departure created an opportunity for the…
Read more »
Where Trade and Health Intersect: Front-of-Package Labelling in the Caribbean as a Case Study
By Dr. Arthur Phillips and Dr. Jan Yves Remy Oftentimes, in public discourse, trade and health are presented as opposing factions competing for governments’ attention and priority. Those who ardently believe in the right of governments to protect the well-being of their citizenry often see trade rules that promote the dismantling of barriers to trade as being antagonistic to health objectives. Likewise, trade officials often find the concerns raised by health aficionados as irritants to the promotion of liberalization goals. That “divide” has played out in the context of disputes between countries at the World Trade Organization. For instance, cases…
Read more »
Cement Saga Confirms Importance of CCJ to CARICOM
By: Dr. Jan Yves Remy and Alicia Nicholls This year, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) delivered two substantive rulings in a dispute aptly dubbed by the media as the ‘cement saga’, a reference to a long-running spat involving regional competitors in the cement business: Rock Hard Distribution Limited, and its subsidiary Rock Hard Cement Ltd (RHCL), on the one hand; and Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) and its subsidiary Arawak Cement Company Ltd (ACCL) on the other. The dispute would result in five CCJ rulings and several orders. In its first substantive ruling, issued in April, the Court decided on…
Read more »
Addressing Genetically Modified Foods: A Rising Food Security Concern for the Region
By: Camille Russell Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are one of the most controversial areas of science. While their use in certain fields like medicine is accepted, when it comes to their use in food and agriculture, ethical and moral questions loom. For example, while GM insulin is acceptable in the medical field, there remains skepticism over genetically modified soy and corn crops. GM foods refer to any foods containing or derived from a genetically-engineered organism. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines GMOs as “organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a…
Read more »