Abstract

“Over the last two decades, in particular there has been a marked paradigm shift in the economic and foreign policy orientation of most countries in which inward-looking trade and development strategies have been replaced by outward-oriented ones. A key catalyst of this shift has been the fact that International Trade has risen in prominence as the principal driver of economic growth in the global economy. This has created the phenomenon of trade-led growth and more importantly export-led growth, as a widely advocated prescription for growth and development. As a result, countries have sought to mainstream trade and global integration as major components of their national development strategies.”

(Review of External Relations Policy, Dr. Lewis et al. Pg. 81, on the Nexus between Trade & Foreign Affairs).

General Thematic Areas

Competition Policy
(i)Enhance awareness by the private sector of  intra-regional and extra-regional commitments as it relates to competition policy and the importance of these commitments in helping to promote economic development and safeguard consumer welfare;

(ii)Increase stakeholder awareness of the types of commercial behaviour that merit prohibition under a competition policy regime;

(iii)Increase the capacity of public sector officials in key line Ministries to actively engage  in the process of designing and implementing an appropriate competition policy legal framework for St Lucia; and

(iv) Provide an update on the status of CARICOM-Canada negotiations in the area of Competition Policy;

 

Government Procurement
Support CARICOM in its efforts to establish an effective national and regional regime for Public Procurement that facilitates the full implementation of the CSME, and to participate more effectively in external trade negotiations relating to Public Procurement

(i) Facilitate an increased engagement by the METC at the national level on policy issues related to Government Procurement.

Subsidies and Countervailing measures

Coordinate efforts at the national level to ensure compliance to WTO provisions as it relates to notification of relevant new and existing trade policies/programmes

Ensure  WTO obligations are met as it relates to the provision of new and full notification on current incentive programmes under Article XVI:1 of GATT 1994 and Article 25 the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures

Institutional Issues and Dispute Settlement

Promote and facilitate the development of Saint Lucia’s International Trading Interests.

Engage in bilateral, hemispheric, regional and multilateral trade negotiations and to successfully position Saint Lucia to take advantage of opportunities available under these agreements.

To facilitate consultation and formulation of St. Lucia’s position on matters related specifically to Institutional Issues and Dispute Settlement under the CARICOM-Canada Trade Negotiations

 

Strategically position Saint Lucia to operate in, and derive the maximum trade benefits from External Trade Agreements

The function of the Civil Aviation Division can be summarized as  : providing national level regulatory oversight of Saint Lucia’s Air Transportation Sector in a manner consistent with international standards, whilst ensuring sector sustainability and maximum contribution to the Economic Development of Saint Lucia.

The Civil Aviation Division manages the relationship between/among:

The Government

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO )

Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA);

St. Lucia Air and Seaports Authority (SLASPA) / Air navigation service provider;

Accident and Incident Investigation Agency

Airlines; and  National aviation industry

 

(i) Assist the Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA) with coordinating various domestic, regional and international trade promotion events/trade missions.