Guyana commended by WTO for future trade policy plans

Guyana has been commended for its future trade policy plans by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), with Member States lauding the Government’s efforts to ensure a business-friendly investment environment.
Guyana concluded a two-day presentation of reports and responses to questions posed in the context of its Fourth Trade Policy Review (TPR) by the WTO’s Secretariat. The delegation was led by Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar.
During the engagements, the country was also encouraged to continue its participation in the ongoing negotiations at the WTO, on matters related to investment facilitation, trade and environment, and the joint statement initiative. The Member States commended Guyana’s efforts thus far on facilitating a business-friendly regulatory and investment environment and urged the continuation of this pursuit.
Representatives also commended the in-depth information provided regarding the new oil and gas industry and local content legislation.
The questions were posed by 19 WTO members, and comments were made by the Caricom; African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States; Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS); and African Groups in Geneva. These questions related to the oil and gas sector; the local content legislation; Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS); services sector; mainstreaming gender in trade; Natural Resource Fund (NRF) and notification obligations to the WTO.
Informally concluding the TPR, Guyana is now expected to provide written answers within a stipulated time frame to the almost 200 additional questions received so far.
The TPR is an integral part of the multilateral trading system in the WTO and is administered under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). Under the TPRM, trade policies of all members are subject to a periodic review. Under the rules of the WTO TPRM, Guyana is required to undergo a review every six years, with previous reviews done in 2003, 2009, and 2015.
The TPRM is one of the main channels used by the WTO to promote accountability, predictability, and transparency – the core values of the multilateral trading system.
Over the past few years, the World Bank has generally made projections of Guyana’s economic growth that have been buoyed by the growing oil and gas sector. For instance, the Bank had projected last year that Guyana’s economy would grow by 20.9 per cent, outpacing other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
US oil giant ExxonMobil began producing oil on December 20, 2019, in the Stabroek Block. It has since made a slew of finds in the Stabroek Block, leading to Guyana’s rise as the world’s hottest new oil producer.
As Guyana looks to expand its reach globally, the focus is being placed on getting its products into markets across the Caribbean region and according to President Dr Irfaan Ali last December, efforts are being made to remove hindrances to trade within the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
Months after assuming office, President Ali had charged the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry to assess and address the hurdles related to exporting food and agricultural products to markets within the region. As such, concerns on barriers to trade, particularly against exports, to some Caricom markets were raised with the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) earlier last year. The Ministry subsequently formed a National Working Group on Barriers to Trade against Exports from Guyana.