CARICOM US trade meeting Guyana
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United States of America (USA) evaluated their trade and investment partnership last Friday, October 13, when leaders from both organizations met in Georgetown, Guyana.
The packed agenda of the Ninth Meeting of the CARICOM-United States Trade and Investment Council, held at the CARICOM Secretariat headquarters, included agricultural sustainability, food and nutrition security, Caribbean Basin Initiative issues, trade in services, trade facilitation, and good regulatory practices.
The two sides examined the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), the United States’ trade preference programs for the region, and explore measures to strengthen the US-CARICOM trade and investment partnership.
The discussion on agricultural sustainability and food and nutrition security would highlight the use of biotechnology and other tools to promote climate resilience in agriculture, as well as CARICOM’s 25 by 2025 initiative, as CARICOM accelerates efforts to achieve the goal of 25% reduction in food imports by 2025.
Officials explored trade facilitation possibilities for shortened procedures to assist exports and the participation of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in international commerce.
Representatives from CARICOM and the United States also looked into measures to improve engagement under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). This agreement rationalizes CARICOM and the US desire to encourage long-term development, expansion, and diversification of product and service trade.
The Meeting was co-chaired on behalf of CARICOM by HE Felix Gregoire, Ambassador of Dominica to CARICOM and the OECS, and on behalf of the US by Ambassador Jayme White, Deputy US Trade Representative.
