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.
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Why didn’t the chicken cross the water?
By: Camille Russell Throughout CARICOM, chicken is considered king. In fact, the region boasts close to 100 per cent sufficiency in eggs and approximately 67 per cent sufficiency for poultry meats. Furthermore, not only is the poultry industry the region’s largest industrial enterprise, with a gross income in excess of US$660 million, but it accounts for more than 80 per cent of the meat consumed in the region. Yet, amidst these claims of high self-sufficiency, extra-regional imports of poultry are quite high. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), these imports are estimated at more than US$1 billion annually…
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My experience in the MITP Geneva Study Tour
By: Ade O’NEAL Reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), trade facilitation, and under-representation by Caribbean States at the WTO were some of the hot-button issues ventilated over the course of the two-week Study Tour in Geneva organized for students enrolled in the Masters in International Trade Policy (MITP) Programme at the Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy & Services (SRC) of The University of the West Indies. During the Study Tour, which is a key component of the MITP Programme, students engaged with academics, ambassadors and other diplomats, agency heads and fellow students to gain a greater…
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Geneva, still a place where trade people come together!
By Dr. Jan Yves Remy As the plane climbs above Lake Geneva and I say goodbye again to the Swiss Alps, I reflect on my three-week stay in Geneva accompanying UWI/Cave Hill students enrolled in the SRC’s Masters in Trade Policy (MITP) programme. Geneva, a city in the heart of Europe, represents the best of humanity. It is a place where the world’s statesmen and women meet to pursue common values and promote peaceful relations among themselves, and is home to a number of multilateral organizations, like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Health Organization, to…
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Expanding China-Caribbean Trade
By Alicia Nicholls Economic and political ties between the People’s Republic of China (China) and the Caribbean as a whole have undergone a substantial deepening in recent years. For both geostrategic and economic reasons, China has initiated much of this overture. But there are also compelling reasons why Caribbean countries increasingly regard China as a valued economic and financial partner, and why Caribbean firms are exhibiting a growing interest in China as a potential export market for their goods and services. Firstly, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$12 trillion according to World Bank data, China is the world’s…
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Is the WTO still relevant in its current configuration? – A perspective from the Caribbean
By: Neil C.A. Paul Over the last few years, the issue of the relevance of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been raised in many quarters of its membership. The WTO, is a system of multilateral trade Rules which governs global trade for more than 160 countries. It is a part of the Bretton Woods institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB). In a sense the WTO is a legacy of the original Bretton woods agreement which included ideas for an international Trade Organization (ITO), and according to a publication, Bretton Woods Project (2005), “these lay…
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Can CARICOM Afford to Miss the WTO E-Commerce Train?
On the sidelines of this year’s World Economic Forum meeting in January at Davos, Switzerland, 76 Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) expressed their intention to begin WTO negotiations on electronic commerce (e-commerce). Making up less than half of the WTO’s overall membership, these willing Members entreated other Members to join them in negotiating rules aimed at facilitating the use of e-commerce in trade. All independent CARICOM Member States, with the exception of the Bahamas – which is presently acceding to the WTO – are WTO Members and therefore eligible to join these negotiations. However, so far none has…
Read more »UNCITRAL Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform: Why It Matters to Caribbean States
By: Andrea Ewart, Esq. On 28th June, 2016, an arbitral tribunal ordered the Government of Belize to pay to the private company of Dunkeld International Investments Ltd. the sum of approximately US $171.2 million.1 The award arose out of claims brought by Dunkeld, which held majority shares in Belize Telemedia Limited, after the nationalization of Belize Telemedia by the Belize Telecommunications (Amendment) Act of 2009. Using the provisions of the investment agreement between the United Kingdom and Belize2, Dunkeld submitted its claims to international arbitration. While the Belizean Courts have since ruled that the government’s action was unconstitutional, the multi-million-dollar…
Read more »Special and Differential Treatment in the WTO: A Caribbean Perspective
Special and differential treatment (S&DT), which grants certain preferences and flexibilities to developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), is a cornerstone of the rules-based multilateral trading system. At present, all WTO developing country members, including those in the Caribbean, benefit from S&DT under the WTO Agreements to assist their integration into the global trading system. However, recent proposals made by some developed country members would significantly overhaul the WTO’s current S&DT approach. The most concrete and far-reaching proposal, which was tabled by the United States (US) in February 2019, proposes certain exclusionary criteria, which if implemented, would deny some…
Read more »The Case for Accelerating Gender Mainstreaming in CARICOM Trade Policy
While we can all agree that trade offers the potential for inclusive and sustainable growth in small Caribbean states, deployment of a successful trade strategy requires recognition and ultimately monitoring of its differentiated impacts on women and men. Despite immense strides made in empowering women, they remain under-represented in global trade and are disproportionately affected by international competition and technological changes. On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2019, we highlight the link between trade and gender and make the case that accelerating gender mainstreaming in trade policies of CARICOM Member States promotes not just gender equality, but inclusive growth…
Read more »CSME Free Movement of Labour Traffic Signal Analysis
By: Dr. Kai-Ann Skeete Free movement of labour – green light On the morning of December 5 2018, citizens of the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Single Market and Economy (CSME) participating Member States woke up to a new, impending reality. Just hours earlier, several of their respective leaders signed the St. Ann’s Declaration on the CSME. This Declaration heralds 3 positive realities. Firstly, it declares that willing Member States would move towards full free movement by 2021. Secondly, it allows for the expansion of CARICOM Skilled National Categories; and thirdly, it declared that CARICOM Skills Certificates would be recognised by all…
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