CARIFORUM and UK EPA Study

This may not be an entirely unsurprising result given that, apart from the cost of entry to foreign markets, particularly as it relates to the costs associated with the physical establishment of foreign affiliates or branches of entities overseas, as well as the not so insignificant cost of movement of service providers, especially to the larger consumer markets, perhaps the largest impediment to access remains that of the level and types of regulatory hurdles faced by CARIFORUM services exporters. Notwithstanding, the regional trend in Mode 3 stands in stark contrast to the UK’s documented reliance on Mode 3 for both exports and imports of services, followed by Mode 1 trade in services.

Figure 29: Total Share of Exports by Mode of Supply (2008-2017)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Mode 4 Mode 3 Mode 2 Mode 1

Haiti

Belize

Guyana

Jamaica St. Kitts and Nevis

Grenada

Bahamas

Barbados

Dominica Dominican Republic

Suriname Trinidad and Tobago

Saint Lucia

Antigua and Barbuda

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Source: WTO Statistical Database ad Author’s Calculations

Figure 29 above shows that, across the CARIFORUM region, all States were engaged at some level in the export of services via Modes 1, 2 and 4, despite the latter representing a very small share. However, during the period 2008 to 2017, only nine (9) CARIFORUM States registered any services export activity in Mode 3. These included The Bahamas, which recorded the largest exports via Mode 3, accounting for more than a third of its total services exports (36.4%), followed by Suriname with almost a quarter (23.4%), and Guyana (9.5%) at approximately one-tenth. Belize (7.8%), Trinidad and Tobago (0.9%), the DR (0.3%), Barbados (0.1%) and Saint Lucia (0.05%) were next in line.

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