United Nations DPINGO Conference

1
United Nations DPI/NGO Conference

• Moving Development Forward
• Accountability, Transparency and Equitable Trade
  Practices
• UN Headquarters, New York, USA
• Sept. 7, 2006
• Christopher P. Sinckler
• CPDC

2
Post 60s era one to celebrate

• All Commonwealth Caribbean Countries (CCCs) are
  by most international measures considered
  middle-income countries or better. Four are
  classified at high human development countries
• The average per capita GNP up to 2004 was about
  US5,400 5 countries exceeded US7,500 and the
  OECS countries (some of the smallest in the
  world) it is US6,400 exceeding the regional
  average

3
Post 60s era one to celebrate

• In the post colonial era most countries have
  achieved some measure of economic diversification
  aware from mainly agriculture to services such as
  banking, insurance and tourism leading to greater
  incomes and development gains.
• As a result export concentration has been
  significantly reduced.

4
GDP Growth
5
GDP GROWTH

• These figures tell us that GDP growth for most
  countries has been good. Though growth issues
  remain for Jamaica, Dominica and to a lesser
  extent Guyana.
• Trinidad by far the best performer with the
  emerging oil boom.
• Barbados, St. Lucia, Belize and St Vincent
  continue to perform steadily

6
PROGRESS ON THE SOCIAL SIDE

• - Life expectancy is at the level of developed
  countries 74years
• - Infant mortality rate has fallen from over 200
  per 1000 live births to 12 in some case
• - Primary and Secondary school enrollment is in
  the high 90s
• - Literacy Rates are also in the 90s
• - Digital divide has shrunk considerably and
  ICT access has advanced to the extent where
  countries like Barbados have more telephone
  connections (fixed and mobile) than people and
  internet usage ratios exceed that of Europe, and
  are four and one-half times that of the Latin
  American region

7
Real Challenges Exist

• Several economies remain weak and have
• swapped one form of sectoral dependence
• for another (from agriculture to services)
• With exception of Trinidad few have genuine
  industrial
• bases and are huge captives to external
  industrial
• manufactures
• Many have huge food import bills on occasion of
  the
• decline in agricultural output threatening their
  food security
• All except Trinidad have poor unfavourable
  balance of
• payments indicators spending more foreign
  exchange
• than they are earning.

8
Selected Economic Indicators

• Growth in public sector debt major worry as on
  average is about 96 of GDP
• Most countries are carrying deficits on their
  fiscal accounts with overall fiscal deficits on
  average at 6 of GDP
• FDI flows continue to be weak with an average of
  only 6 of GDP

9
Selected Import Data
10
Trade Data Graph
11
Structural Weaknesses

• 1. Small production capacity, lack of economies
  of scale, limited domestic markets and high cost
  of inputs such as transportation, energy,
  insurance and labour, which impede productivity
  and competitiveness.
• 2. Small, open economies reliant on a narrow
  range of exports of goods and services are
  highly vulnerable to external shocks.
• 3. High dependence on import taxes as a source of
  revenue, any significant reduction of which due
  to trade liberalisation will negatively impact
  regional economies
• 4. Vulnerability is compounded by the threat and
  incidence of natural disasters, e.g. hurricanes
  and volcanoes

12
THREE BIG HITS

• WTO Decision DSP Decision on Bananas
• EU Proposed Reform of its Sugar Protocol
• Unilateral Liberalization of Agri-sector under
  IMF/World Bank sponsored Adjustment Programme

13
WHAT IS TO BE DONE

• Seriously Reform the current Neo-Liberal Trade
  regime to make it more sensitive to differences
  in capacity to assimilate trade disciplines.
• Undertake a complete reform of the multi-lateral
  trading system particularly WTO as an
  institution. It lacks transparency, it is not
  accountable and its rules are unjust

14
WHAT IS TO BE DONE

• There needs to be a realistic dis-segregation of
  developing countries in international trade.
  There are special cases beyond the LDCs and HIPCs
  that urgently need attention.
• Economic Protection is also part of national
  security.

15
WHAT IS TO BE DONE

• There needs to be a genuine acceptance of a small
  states agenda in international trade
• This must include retention of some level of
  preferential margins, lesser disciplines under
  negotiation, longer transition periods, greater
  technical assistance (including financial
  assistance in handling adjustment costs)

16
WHAT IS TO BE DONE

• Get developing countries to build real
  partnerships on trade and development and to stop
  undermining each other in international trade
  negotiations.

17
UN/DPI CONFERENCE

• THANK YOU