Caribbean Times 85th Issue - Friday 27th January 2017
Caribbean Times 85th Issue - Friday 27th January 2017
Caribbean Times 85th Issue - Friday 27th January 2017
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<strong>Friday</strong> <strong>27th</strong> <strong>January</strong> <strong>2017</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 7<br />
cont’d from pg 6<br />
have to work energetically<br />
to maximise US investment<br />
in unique natural resources –<br />
high quality beaches in a <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
environment; minerals<br />
such as oil and gas and, in<br />
the case of Guyana, gold.<br />
OECD and G20 rules:<br />
Rules of these organisations<br />
place strictures on tax<br />
competition and demand<br />
common reporting standards.<br />
These rules are rigidly<br />
applied against <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
and other developing countries.<br />
Countries that fail<br />
to comply are blacklisted,<br />
affecting their capacity to<br />
operate in the international<br />
economy. President Trump<br />
is clearly putting “America<br />
first” in all this as his country<br />
has the power to do. <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
countries will have to<br />
carefully consider whether<br />
they can follow the advice of<br />
Mr Trump in his inauguration<br />
speech – “it is the right<br />
of all nations to put their<br />
own interests first” – or will<br />
a double standard apply in<br />
which only powerful countries<br />
can set aside rules that<br />
do not serve their national<br />
interest. To be fair to President<br />
Trump, his administration<br />
did not contribute to the<br />
existing rules.<br />
Deportation of Undocumented<br />
immigrants: The<br />
new US administration<br />
intends to deport undocumented<br />
immigrants to their<br />
country of origin. If there<br />
are any undocumented CAR-<br />
ICOM nationals, they will<br />
suffer that fate. On <strong>January</strong><br />
25, Trump signed executive<br />
orders that reinstates<br />
the Secure Communities<br />
Programme which Immigrations<br />
and Customs Enforcement<br />
(ICE), the branch<br />
of the U.S. government that<br />
enforces immigration laws,<br />
uses to target undocumented<br />
immigrants. The Order also<br />
directs the State Department<br />
to withhold visas or take other<br />
measures to ensure that<br />
countries take back their undocumented<br />
immigrants. It<br />
also strips federal grant money<br />
from any US city that<br />
harbours undocumented immigrants<br />
through sanctuary<br />
laws.<br />
In this situation, <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
countries can expect<br />
to have an influx of undocumented<br />
immigrants. The<br />
only way they can prevent<br />
this is by refusing to take<br />
them. The consequence of<br />
that action is that the US will<br />
not grant visas of any kind to<br />
the nationals of the refusing<br />
countries. There may be<br />
other sanctions.<br />
CARICOM countries<br />
should consider the immediate<br />
establishment of national<br />
Committees at senior level to<br />
plan for an influx of undocumented<br />
immigrants from the<br />
US. These immigrants will<br />
be of all sorts, but the majority<br />
will be unskilled labourers<br />
and many will be below<br />
the age of 40. Failure to<br />
plan could result in a sudden<br />
increase in the population<br />
of each country, driving up<br />
unemployment and crime<br />
and straining their health<br />
facilities; their capacity for<br />
delivering water; and the<br />
capability of their courts,<br />
prisons and police.<br />
Individually and collectively,<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> governments<br />
have to engage the<br />
Trump administration and<br />
the US Congress to discuss<br />
these worrying developments<br />
that have implications<br />
for the region, but also for<br />
the US.<br />
Editor’s Note: The opinions<br />
expressed in this Op-ed<br />
are those of the author and<br />
do not necessarily reflect the<br />
views of <strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Times</strong>.