The Network of Caribbean Chambers of Commerce (CARICHAM) will partner with CARICOM and the OECS to host the webinar: Regional Private Sector Dialogue on Trade Facilitation and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

CARICHAM is seeking to understand from the Private Sector and represent how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the movement of goods across borders, and to ascertain how implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) might ease the situation. The survey in the link below consists of three questions. The results of the survey will be used to inform CARICHAM’s presentation at the Regional Private Sector Dialogue on 28 October 2020. Your feedback to these questions would be greatly appreciated.

Click here to complete the survey:

Draft Agenda

9:00 am - 9:05 am

Ambassador Gail Mathurin, Director General, Office of Trade Negotiations, CARICOM Secretariat

Dr. Dax Driver, Chair CARICHAM 

9:05 am - 10:15 am
Private Sector perspectives on trade facilitation challenges and priorities arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and successful business strategies and responses required to survive and pivot.

Komal Samaroo, Executive Chairman, Demarara Distillers Ltd.(DDL); Chair, Executive Board of the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA)
Gabriel Faria ,CEO, Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce
Basil Khalil, Vice President of Operations, FedEx Express Latin America and Caribbean Division
Louis Forde , Vice President, Caribbean Association of Customs Brokers (CACUB)
Andrew Satney, Vice-Chair CARICHAM, and Chair of CARICHAM Working Group on Trade Facilitation, Trade Promotion, and Transportation.

10:15 am - 10:45 am

Regional and International responses and best practices to facilitate trade and business continuity during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key findings and recommendations from the TFAF/ ICC/ Global Alliance Survey on trade facilitation key challenges during COVID-19;

Recommendations on appropriate TF measures that should be prioritized as part of a sustainable regional economic recovery strategy.

Moderator: Mr. Trevor Fearon , Jamaica Chamber of Commerce

Cosbert Woods, OECS Commission
Raul Perales, Deputy Director, Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation
Poul Hansen, Chief, Trade Facilitation Section, Division of Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD
William John Gain, Global Lead for Trade Facilitation, World Bank Group
Dr. Mohammad Saeed, Senior Trade Facilitation Adviser, International Trade Centre (ITC)

10:45 am - 11:00am
Conclusion and Takeaways