With the economic challenges arising out of the advent of the coronavirus pandemic still some distance away from being overcome, the Biden administration is reportedly in the process of formulating plans for a Caribbean Region Trade Mission and Business Conference in October.
A spokesman for Washington on the planned event – Ian Saunders, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere, US Department of Commerce – is reported as saying that the Mission will seek to connect US companies to opportunities in the region. The forum, a Caribbean Business Report story says, is being undertaken in partnership with the US embassies in 14 Caribbean countries and that it will seek to connect US companies to opportunities in the Caribbean region.
Labelled “Trade Americas – Business Opportunities in the Caribbean Region Conference,” the forum will reportedly feature region-specific sessions and reports on market entry strategies, export compliance, logistics, disaster resilience and recovery, and trade financing, and will also include sessions on financing and legal and transparency issues. Saunders made the disclosure about the event as he delivered the feature address virtually at the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AmChamTT).
In an address in which he focussed on the themes of competitiveness, transparency, and security, as pillars that support economic growth and job creation in the United States and in the Caribbean, Saunders said that the US acts in its own and in the Caribbean’s best interests when Washington helps neighbouring countries build open economies and create opportunities. “Let me assure you that the United States will remain a steadfast and committed partner, as we work to move our region towards its enormous potential as an engine of growth, opportunity and poverty reduction for its own citizens and for the global economy,” he said.
Saunders also spoke of the importance of economic engagement between the United States and the Caribbean, particularly with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic’s devastating effects in terms of lost lives and suffering.
In the face of the Covid-19 challenge he noted that all governments are asking how to deliver prosperity, jobs, and hope for their people. Saunders said that the pandemic’s strains on public finances have led to the deferral of public infrastructure projects or worse, caused countries to turn to new sources of debt finance that do not operate with the same transparency as private capital markets. He listed among those concerns, addressing climate change, accelerating energy transition, ensuring security, improving healthcare, and the need to build infrastructure.
The US government official told the more than 300 delegates that governments in the region cannot and should not address these challenges alone.
