Trinidad and Tobago and CARICOM

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Trinidad and Tobago-CARICOM
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Since1973
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The nation of Trinidad and Tobago has been the leading supporter of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Trinidad and Tobago was one of the four members in 1973 which then along with Barbados, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda moved to establish the organisation that today it known as the Caribbean Community and Common Market. The new organisation because a successor to the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) by the Treaty of Chaguaramas, of which Trinidad and Tobago was a leading member and also a founding member. [1]

Several Organisations of the CARICOM organisation are physically based in Trinidad and Tobago including:

For its own purposes, the CARICOM organisation classifies its members as either More Developed Countries or Less Developed countries. Trinidad and Tobago is classified as fitting into More Developed Country.

In February 2003 the Government of Trinidad and Tobago took a decision to establish the CARICOM Trade Support (CTS) Programme. [2] Partly crafted by Mr. Kenneth Valley, Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Trade, [3] the CTS Programme provides loans to finance business development projects in order to help CARICOM States improve their trade capacity, enhance the performance of their individual economies [4] and to strengthen the competitiveness among private sector firms. [2] Loans are provided on an interest-free basis and must be used for the purposes of procuring technical assistance services which are to be delivered by consultants. [4] The Programme was launched on October 29, 2004 with a revolving fund loan in the amount of TT$100 million to be disbursed on an interest free basis to firms in CARICOM, except those located in Trinidad and Tobago. [2] The TT$100 million (US$16 million or J$1 billion (at the 2004 exchange rate)) loan facility is just one component of the programme however. Other components of the trade support programme include the facilitation of investment by firms from Trinidad and Tobago in CARICOM member-states through joint ventures and strategic alliances; as well as the provision of technical inputs from national and regional private sector umbrella bodies. [5] Administered by Trinidad and Tobago's Ministry of Trade and Industry [6] the programme has already approved loans for private sector firm in St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, and more recently in Suriname (the Sunspot company) and Jamaica (for the Pulse Investment Company Ltd.). The latter two companies received loans totalling US$180,000 for the purposes of restructuring to ensure enhanced profitability and to develop an export marketing programme. Loans, in amounts ranging from US$6,000 to US$100,000, approved under the CTS programme will be disbursed by the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) and the bank will also be responsible for administering loan repayments and the securitization of loan funds. [7]

Since at least 2007, in addition to the interest-free loans for the utilization of consultants in business development projects, the CTS programme has also been offering loans at market rates for plant, equipment and inventory through financial institutions like the RBTT and EXIM Bank of the United States. [7]

In July 2004, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago also took a decision to establish a CARICOM Petroleum Stabilization Fund as a grant facility capitalized at a maximum of TT$25 million per month based on a CARICOM partner country's purchase of petroleum from Petrotrin. [8] It was officially established in 2006 [9] and is aimed at supporting poverty eradication projects and is administered by the Caribbean Development Bank. [8] Prior to its official establishment, one of the earliest utilizations of the Fund was in the form of a TT$150 million bailout of LIAT (of which the government of Trinidad and Tobago is a shareholder) to assist in its restructuring plans in January 2005. This bailout was agreed to by the Trinidad and Tobago Cabinet and approved by the CARICOM Heads of Government. As the Fund had not been officially established under Section 43 of the Exchequer and Audit Act, the necessary funds were appropriated by Parliament in the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries as part of its overall allocation. The Trinidad and Tobago Cabinet approved the used of the funds, as at the time it was not prepared to support either BWIA or LIAT in their present form and stressed that the CARICOM member states should move with dispatch to ensure the restructuring of the airlines and the establishment of a regional carrier [10]

By the end of December 2006, TT$750 million (US$125 million) of grant funds had been disbursed from the Petroleum Fund. [11] In 2009 the Fund amounted to US$79 million (TT$502.6) million. [12] Among the projects funded by the Petroleum Stabilization Fund (PSF) in 2009 was a 10-day search and rescue course conducted by the Montserrat Institute of Disaster Research Education and Management for Community Emergency Response Teams. Students from the course came from Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Cayman Islands, Saint Lucia, Dominica and Montserrat with fourteen Montserratians participating in order to strengthen their island's capacity to cope with hazards, including its ongoing volcanic threat. [13] In December 2009, the Manning administration offered ready and willing support to Jamaica from the PSF in the event that more money was needed to meet the requirements for a loan from the International Monetary Fund. Energy Minister Conrad Enill said that although Trinidad and Tobago itself is facing a $7 billion deficit, any assistance for Jamaica was already available by way of the PSF if it wanted any short term help to raise J$21.8 billion (TT$1.53 billion) needed to meet the requirements for the IMF loan. [12] [14]

At the July 2010 meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Mrs. Persad-Bissessar expressed her government's firm commitment to the fund but argued for greater accountability as to how the funds are being used so that the resources spent are allocated in accordance with what are the most urgent areas of need in the region. She cited a range of issues that the fund could target, including in education, the development of a sustained regional environment initiative and the fostering of regional scheme similar to Trinidad and Tobago's Children's Life Fund which provides money for surgeries for children. [14] By the end of 2011, US$260 million had been provided in assistance through the PSF. [15]

In January 2015, at the first First Caribbean Energy Security Summit in Washington, DC, Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar proposed a US$1 billion Caribbean Energy Thematic Fund. [16] [17] Persad-Bissessar note that after 18 months of rigour analysis and feasibility studies in close coordination with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), her government had agreed on the creation of this fund for Caricom member states to build resilience, competitiveness and energy security via transformation of the energy landscape in the region. This transformation would be brought about by (i) maximizing the use of renewable energy sources; (ii) Improving energy efficiency and conservation; and (iii) converting the base load capacity of the region towards Liquefied Natural Gas-fueled electricity generation. [16] [17] The proposed fund would be capitalized and administered in conjunction with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the World Bank, IMF, other international donors, and the private sector. [16] [17] Later in February 2015, T&T's Minister of Planning and Development Dr Bhoe Tewarie, clarified that Trinidad & Tobago would only be participating in the proposed fund if it makes sense to do so and if there was going to be return on the investment into region's long term energy security and needs. He added that the level of Trinidad and Tobago's participation would also depend on the willingness and commitment of the Inter-American Development Bank and other contributing donors. He noted that the proposal was well received by other Caricom representatives at the First Caribbean Energy Security Summit in Washington, DC and that his government was committed to establishing the fund. [18]

On 12, March 2010 Trinidad and Tobago signed the CARIPASS treaty, so the CARIPASS is a voluntary travel card programme that provide a simple border crossings to other CARICOM nations. [19]

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The politics of Trinidad and Tobago function within the framework of a unitary state regulated by a parliamentary democracy modelled on that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from which the country gained its independence in 1962. Under the 1976 republican Constitution, the monarch was replaced as head of state by a President chosen by an electoral college composed of the members of the bicameral Parliament, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

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The economy of Trinidad and Tobago is the third wealthiest in the Caribbean and the fifth-richest by GDP (PPP) per capita in the Americas. Trinidad and Tobago is recognised as a high-income economy by the World Bank. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, the country's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals. The country's wealth is attributed to its large reserves and exploitation of oil and natural gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caribbean Community</span> Regional intergovernmental organisation

The Caribbean Community is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states and five associated members throughout the Americas and Atlantic Ocean. It has the primary objective to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973, by its four founding members signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Its primary activities involve:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United National Congress</span> Political party in Trinidad and Tobago

The United National Congress is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unionist, and actor after a split in the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). After spending six years in opposition, the UNC won control of the government in 1995, initially in coalition with the NAR and later on its own. In the 2000 general election, the UNC won an absolute majority in the Parliament. In 2001, a split in the party caused the UNC to lose its parliamentary majority and control of the government. From 2001 to 2010, the UNC was once again Parliamentary Opposition party. In May 2010, the UNC returned to government as the majority party in the People's Partnership. The UNC's Political Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, was sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Kamla Persad-Bissessar was Prime Minister from 2010 until 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petrotrin</span> State-owned oil company in Trinidad and Tobago

Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited was a state-owned oil company in Trinidad and Tobago. Its principal activities were the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons in addition to the manufacturing and marketing of petroleum products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamla Persad-Bissessar</span> Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician, lawyer, and the 6th prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago

Kamla Persad-Bissessar ; born Kamla Susheila Persad, 22 April 1952), often referred to by her initials KPB, is a Trinidadian lawyer, politician and educator who is the Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, political leader of the United National Congress (UNC) political party, and was the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 26 May 2010 until 9 September 2015. She was the country's first female prime minister, attorney general, and Leader of the Opposition, the first woman to chair the Commonwealth of Nations and the first woman of Indian origin to be a prime minister of a country outside of India and the wider subcontinent.

CL Financial was the largest privately held conglomerate in Trinidad and Tobago and one of the largest privately held corporations in the entire Caribbean, before the company encountered a major liquidity crisis and subsequent bailout in 2009.

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The CARICOM Single Market and Economy, also known as the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), is an integrated development strategy envisioned at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which took place in July 1989 in Grand Anse, Grenada. The Grand Anse Declaration had three key Features:

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The Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) is the main stock exchange in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and the largest stock exchange in the Caribbean region by market capitalization. As a member-state of CARICOM several companies from Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange also cross-list their stocks onto the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange. The unique four symbol alphanumeric Market Identifier Code (MIC) used to identify the TTSE as defined under ISO 10383. of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is: XTRN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caribbean Free Trade Association</span> English speaking economic trade organization

The Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) was an English-speaking economic trade organisation. It organised on 1 May 1968, to provide a continued economic linkage between the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean. The agreements establishing it came following the dissolution of the West Indies Federation, which lasted from 1958 to 1962.

Anand Ramlogan is a member of the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago, England & Wales and the British Virgin Islands. He is the founder and head of Freedom Law Chambers which is based in the city of San Fernando, Trinidad. He served as junior counsel to the late Sir Fenton Ramsahoye QC in whose footsteps he followed to become the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago during the period 28 May 2010 – 2 February 2015. As Attorney General, he was also the titular head of the bar.

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Suriname–Trinidad and Tobago relations refers to the bilateral relations between Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Both countries have some of the highest percentages of citizens adhering to Hinduism and Islam in The Americas. Both nations are a part of CARICOM and the OAS. Trinidad and Tobago has a Consulate in Paramaribo.

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Trinidad Petroleum Holdings is a state-owned oil company in Trinidad and Tobago. Its principal activities are the exploration, development, and production of hydrocarbons, operations it conducts through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd. Trinidad Petroleum Holdings also owns Guaracara Refining Company Ltd, which operates the nation's only petroleum refinery. It also owns the Paria Fuel Trading Company subsidiary, which imports refined petroleum products, and stores and distributes them domestically.

References

  1. ↑ Secretariat of the Caribbean Community - The Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) Archived 2008-09-16 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 Caribbean Community to benefit from TT$100 Million Fund
  3. ↑ CARICOM ACTING SG: MR KEN VALLEY HELPED PROPEL THE REGIONAL TRADE AGENDA Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 CARICOM Trade Support Programme Loan
  5. ↑ T&T launches investment fund for Caribbean firms Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ CARICOM Trade Support Programme :a roadmap for regional prosperity Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
  7. 1 2 Caricom trade support loans available to local private sectors
  8. 1 2 Caricom Single Market and Economy: Challenges, Benefits and Prospects, Myrtle Chuck-A-Sang, 2051 pages, 2007, Ian Randle Publishers, ISBN   976-637-325-6.
  9. ↑ Report of the Auditor General 2010
  10. ↑ Govt heads approve LIAT loan from oil fund
  11. ↑ National Energy Policy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 2009
  12. 1 2 Ready to help Air J'ca T&T vows to assist troubled airline
  13. ↑ Search and Rescue course for CERT Teams a Success Archived 2014-08-21 at the Wayback Machine
  14. 1 2 Petroleum Fund Fuels Concern For T&T
  15. ↑ Ewart S Williams: Economic leadership within the Caribbean with particular reference to Trinidad and Tobago
  16. 1 2 3 US$1b energy fund for Caricom
  17. 1 2 3 Kamla calls for US$1b energy fund
  18. ↑ TEWARIE: TT NOT GIVING AWAY MONEY
  19. ↑ "ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News, Headlines & Videos". ABC News .
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