Caribbean Region: Review of Economic Growth and ... - USITC

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projects are set to come online in the short term. Revenue from the energy sector has alsobeen used to create the CARICOM Petroleum Fund to assist CARICOM member states withhigh energy costs.Ambassador Valere said that Trinidad and Tobago has become the largest exporter underCBERA, with most exports concentrated in four petroleum-based products in 2007. Surplusenergy-sector revenues are being used to diversify the economy and to expand and improveinfrastructure. Also, CBERA has helped to increase investment in the country’snontraditional sectors. Between 2000 and 2007, the United States accounted for 43.6 to 69.7percent of Trinidad and Tobago’s exports. Exports to the United States under CBERAtotaled $3.7 billion in 2006. These imports under CBERA constituted 43.7 percent ofTrinidad and Tobago’s exports into the United States in 2006, an increase of 34.5 percentfrom 2005. She added that 30 percent entered under CBTPA provisions. When CBTPAprovisions went into effect in 2001, the percentage of Trinidad and Tobago’s exports to theUnited States receiving preferential treatment doubled.The ambassador stated that although CBERA has been helpful, Trinidad and Tobago needsa more predictable trading arrangement with the United States, since the products currentlyreceiving preferential treatment are limited, and the advantages afforded Trinidad andTobago from preferential trade treatment have eroded with progressive U.S. marketliberalization. She said duty-free access under GSP allow for uncertainty and can erodeTrinidad and Tobago’s margin of preference. Predictable trading arrangements shouldinclude products such as methanol; urea; ammonia-direct-reduced iron; iron and steelproducts; aluminum and aluminum-related products; urea and ammonium nitrate melamine;ethanol; ethylene, polyethylene, and derived products; LNG; propylene, polypropylene, andderived products; petroleum products; ethylene dichloride; polyvinyl chloride; andinformation technology-derived products and services. In addition, Trinidad and Tobago isseeking duty-free access to the United States for goods packaged in Trinidad and Tobago.Government of Antigua and Barbuda 7The written submission of Deborah Mae Lovell, ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to theUnited States, raised the following issues: (1) the country has a one-dimensional economy,heavily dependent on tourism for employment and economic development; (2) powerfulhurricanes destroy infrastructure, and recovery can take many years; (3) the country hasextremely limited arable land and natural resources, limiting alternative productioncapabilities; and (4) the financial services industry, especially gambling and betting services,plays an important role in the economy. According to the submission, the United States isnot fulfilling its WTO obligations under the GATS. Furthermore, the submission states thatUnited States’ actions harm Caribbean development, as they create uncertainty with respectto “what the United States is willing to share,” weaken small countries’ confidence in theUnited States with respect to international trade, and bring into question the United States’commitment to bilateral economic cooperation.7Her Excellency Deborah Mae Lovell, ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States, writtensubmission, February 4, 2008. For more information on the Government of Antigua and Barbuda seehttp://www.ab.gov.ag.5-4
Government of the Republic of Haiti 8In his testimony, the Republic of Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph,described the government of Haiti’s desire for the United States to “take another look” atHOPE and put into place an expanded HOPE that would last for 10 years. Haiti is halfwaythrough the three-year term of HOPE, and at present has added only 5,600 jobs, just morethan one-quarter of the 20,000 jobs it expected from HOPE. Furthermore, these jobs are atfactories that were already existing before enactment of HOPE; they were created throughnew investments. Haiti would like to see an enhanced HOPE enacted that would reduceuncertainty for investors.Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas 9In a written submission, C.A. Smith, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas’ ambassador,stated that The Bahamas are a service-oriented economy dominated by tourism (40 percentof GDP over the last five years) and financial services (15 percent of GDP over the last fiveyears). The United States is its largest trading partner, recently accounting for 84 percentof its imports and 63 percent of its exports (mainly seafood, plastics, and polystyreneproducts). In 2004, approximately $637 million of exports from The Bahamas were givenpreferential treatment from CBI. Most FDI in The Bahamas is from the United States andis concentrated in tourism sector facilities.He noted that the country’s tourism industry is highly dependent on economic conditionsin the countries from which tourists originate. Fifty percent of tourists are from the UnitedStates, and the industry has been affected by the United States’ Western Hemisphere TravelInitiative. The depreciation of the U.S. and Bahamian dollars is expected to increase thenumber of tourists from other countries.The submission also indicated that the financial services landscape in The Bahamas ischaracterized by a favorable tax regime and legislative environment. In 2000, legislation wasenacted to bring The Bahamas’ regulatory and supervisory regime on par with the bestinternational financial standards and practices. Also, the government of The Bahamasintends to introduce an excise tax regime in the near future, as excise taxes are normallyoutside the scope of international trade negotiations.The Bahamas would like to see continued duty-free access to the United States from theCaribbean, and would like an early decision regarding this due to the importance ofinvestment in the economic development of the archipelago. Further, The Bahamas supportsCARICOM’s position that CBTPA should be included in CBERA and extended to allmember states of CARICOM.8His Excellency Raymond Alcide Joseph, ambassador of the Republic of Haiti to the United States,testimony before the U.S. International Trade Commission, January 29, 2008. For more information on theGovernment of Republic of Haiti see http://www.haiti.org.9His Excellency C.A. Smith, ambassador of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, written submission,February 5, 2008. For more information on the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas seehttp://www.bahamas.gov.bs.5-5
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TABLE OF CONTENTSPagePreface ......
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TABLE OF CONTENTS-ContinuedChapter
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List of Frequently Used Abbreviatio
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PPPPRGFSDRSMESPSTASCTEUTIEATIFATRQU
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the Netherlands Antilles, accounted
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most influence investment in the re
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Expanding to Higher-Skill-Intensive
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Focusing on Unique Strategic Advant
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U.S.A.CubaBahamasMap of the Caribbe
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Table 1.1 Summary of CBERA preferen
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13under the same rules of origin ap
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training, orientation visits, and b
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domestic population growth pressure
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Figure 2.2 GDP, most recent year, 2
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Figure 2.3 GDP per capita, PPP, mos
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Table 2.1 Selected CBERA countries:
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Box 2.1 Mobile Telephone Industry i
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Table 2.4 Goods and services trade
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Table 2.6 U.S. merchandise imports
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aTable 2.7 Leading U.S. merchandise
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aTable 2.9 Leading U.S. merchandise
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Extent of Utilization of CBERA Pref
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Table 2.12 U.S. imports of apparel
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important trend in the region is th
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GDP in CBERA countries. When the tw
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percent of GDP; this low figure con
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firms from scrutiny, non-transparen
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and Trinidad and Tobago (the only c
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Table 2.17 World Bank IBRD and IDA
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Table 2.19 Caribbean Development Ba
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Table 2.20 Membership of covered CB
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changes specifically in U.S. policy
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Using country-level data, researche
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Reinhardt. 24 The authors find that
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CBTPA programs. Table 3.1 presents
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exports fluctuated within a range o
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promising for all countries covered
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infrastructure, macroeconomic stabi
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exporters have also been affected b
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Policies identified in the literatu
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outside of the domestic market.”
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infrastructure, the 2005 World Bank
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companies.” 99 The islands provid
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government, provide another opportu
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(CDS), was established in 1983 to p
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Policies identified in the literatu
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that, in the early 1990s, Caribbean
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policies discussed in earlier secti
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Caribbean government officials. 159
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These experiences suggest that supp
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which can generate more internation
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Dean, Judith M., and John Wainio.
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Josling, Tim. “Trade Policy in Sm
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———. Textiles and Apparel: Ef
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CHAPTER 4Current Level of Caribbean
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ANTIGUA & BARBUDAEconomic and Socia
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has been an employer of last resort
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International Integration 4Sources:
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improve its overall financial posit
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Aruba: Selected social development
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elated services, such as conference
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SourcesCaribbean-Central American A
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The Bahamas: Selected social develo
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In addition to its beaches that cou
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investment in the services sector,
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Barbados: Selected social developme
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The main agricultural products are
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$418 million. The main products imp
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Belize: Selected social development
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and is one of the fastest-growing i
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Belize: Selected international inte
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BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDSEconomic and
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Domestic EconomyBritish Virgin Isla
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Data are unavailablefrom sourceData
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USITC. DataWeb (data compiled from
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Dominica: Selected social developme
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mainland or Europe, impede developm
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Dominica: Selected international in
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Economic and Social Development 1GR
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Grenada’s ongoing poverty eradica
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As Grenada’s economy has become i
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Economic and Social Development 1GU
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income average. The government has
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Box 4.1 Bauxite Industry in Guyana:
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Economic and Social Development 1HA
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poor nutrition and inadequate acces
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Box 4.2 Apparel Industry in Haiti:
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Economic and Social Development 1JA
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Hurricane Dean caused significant d
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Source: World Development Indicator
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Box 4.4 Film Production Outsourcing
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MONTSERRATEconomic and Social Devel
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constraint to the country’s futur
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International Integration 2Source:
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CIA. “The World Factbook: Montser
Page 216 and 217: Netherlands Antilles: Selected soci
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Page 220 and 221: Netherlands is a major source of FD
Page 222 and 223: Panama: Selected social development
Page 224 and 225: The services sector contributes mor
Page 226 and 227: Panama: Selected international inte
Page 228 and 229: SourcesCaribbean-Central American A
Page 230 and 231: St. Kitts & Nevis: Selected social
Page 232 and 233: government closed the state-run sug
Page 234 and 235: St. Kitts & Nevis: Selected interna
Page 236 and 237: U.S. Department of State. “Backgr
Page 238 and 239: St. Lucia: Selected social developm
Page 240 and 241: St. Lucia’s main service industri
Page 242 and 243: St. Lucia: Selected international i
Page 244 and 245: ———. St. Lucia: 2005 Article
Page 246 and 247: Vincent & the Grenadines: Selected
Page 248 and 249: 3the islands’ adherence to the
Page 250 and 251: Total goods and services trade was
Page 253 and 254: TRINIDAD & TOBAGOEconomic and Socia
Page 255 and 256: development” category. Since 1990
Page 257 and 258: International Integration 5Sources:
Page 259 and 260: Trinidad and Tobago has consistentl
Page 261: Ethanol Producer Magazine. “Ethan
Page 264 and 265: He said that, in mid-2005, St. Kitt
Page 268 and 269: Government of Jamaica 10In testimon
Page 270 and 271: mentioned that promoting health tou
Page 272 and 273: economies have become increasingly
Page 274 and 275: Caribbean-Central American Action (
Page 276: and that CBERA benefits are limited
Page 279 and 280: She added that “a failure to full
Page 281: APPENDIX ARequest Letter from Commi
Page 284 and 285: 11/07/2UU'113: 45 P'Ua uu3The Honor
Page 286 and 287: I I / V I / L U U I 15;40 P M......
Page 289 and 290: 71432 Federal Register / Vol. 72, N
Page 291: 71434 Federal Register / Vol. 72, N
Page 295 and 296: CALENDAR OF PUBLIC HEARINGThose lis
Page 297 and 298: ORGANIZATION AND WITNESS:Halcrow, I
Page 299: APPENDIX DCountry Profiles Tables a
Page 302 and 303: Table D.1 Country Profiles Tables a
Page 304 and 305: Table D.1-ContinuedTable or figuren
Page 313: APPENDIX EMerchandise Trade Tables
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Table E.2 Leading U.S. imports unde
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APPENDIX FDevelopment Tables
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Table F.2 Selected examples of rece
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Table F.2-ContinuedCountryPanama-Co
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