3 SRC Treats in November: Webinar on MC12; Policy Brief on Trade and Climate Change; Short Courses

The SRC is pleased to announce three treats for you in November:

#1. In the lead-up to the WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva, the SRC and the OECS Mission in Geneva have brought together international and regional experts closely involved in WTO negotiations to discuss the issues at stake for CARICOM countries. In this first of two webinars, to be held on 16 November 2021, 11 am AST, we will discuss the legacy “Doha” trade issues like agriculture and fisheries, and reform issues like special and differential treatment dispute settlement.

Our experts are:

· Dr. Edwini Kessie: WTO Director of Agriculture Division; Head of WTO Delivery Unit

· Dr. Mustaqeem De Gama: Counsellor at South Africa’s Permanent Mission in Geneva

· Mr. Wayne Mc Cook: Former Jamaica Ambassador to WTO and the People’s Republic of China; Former Advisor to WTO Director-General

· Ms. Alicia Greenidge: Trade Consultant, President/Chief Executive, Summit Alliances International

· Organizers/moderators: Dr. Jan Yves Remy (SRC) and Mr. Joel Richards (OECS)

Register now: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lej7xr_kTEqEsN_dgDVRFw

#2. Climate Change and International Trade are two topics dominating the current global agenda, with the meetings of the highest decision-making bodies of each regime taking place in November and December 2021. CARICOM Member States are parties to both the UNFCCC and the WTO but, like many countries in the rest of the world, have not necessarily aligned their obligations under both regimes.

This SRC Policy Brief, entitled: “Trade and Climate Change Interface: Initial Considerations for CARICOM” authored by Jan Yves Remy, Rueanna Haynes, and Kaycia Ellis-Bourne represents a first attempt to review the climate change and trade policies of CARICOM and its Member States with a view forging a CARICOM agenda that utilizes trade to advance our climate change goals. Through a review of multilateral efforts at the UNFCCC, as well as under multilateral, regional, and bilateral trade regimes, the authors seek to illustrate the intersection, at various institutional levels, of the trade/climate change agendas. The Brief also provides a diagnostic survey of trade and climate change-related measures taken by the CARICOM Member States to date, with a view to initiating discussions and spurring policies that are mutually enforcing. It offers some recommendations for the consideration of CARICOM policymakers.

Please find the link to the SRC Brief here.

Accompanying this Brief, as Annex II is a compilation of CARICOM Countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions, as well as the most pressing policies relating to trade-related climate change policies:

#3. The Shridath Ramphal Centre is pleased to offer a series of short courses to complement our core training under the Masters/and Post Graduate Diploma in International Trade Policy.

Dear Friend of the SRC,