CARIFORUM and UK EPA Study

Just four countries consumed a total of over 80% of the services supplied by the UK to CARIFORUM. These four included Barbados (US$3.5 bn), The Bahamas (US$3.2 bn), Trinidad and Tobago (US$3.2 bn), followed by Guyana (US$2.3 bn), which each consumed between 15% to 23% of the UK’s total services exports to the region during the period. Jamaica, Belize and the Dominican Republic were the next largest importers of services from the UK, respectively, together accounting for just over 12% of the total. In the case of Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, in particular, who were the two largest CARIFORUM services importers during the period, the proportions of their total services imports supplied by the UK were notably very low, amounting to just 1.3% for the Dominican Republic and approximately 3.5% for Jamaica. At the same time, the UK experienced positive overall growth in its exports to only 8 of the 15 CARIFORUM countries represented above, with Guyana leading the way with an almost 260% overall increase, followed by St. Vincent and the Grenadines with a 250% increase. The decline in imports of services from the UK, across CARIFORUM, was greatest for Suriname (-57%), Antigua and Barbuda (-48%) and The Bahamas (-31%), though the latter would be first in terms of the absolute value of its decline in imports from the UK. Therefore, the assessment of the UK’s total exports to CARIFORUM indicate that, while the UK remained a leading trade partner for the region, despite persistent fluctuations in its exports to the region, only one-tenth of CARIFORUM’s services imports were supplied by that partner, and with only a handful of CARIFORUM States being responsible for that amount. Furthermore, the region’s top performing services importers polled extremely low import numbers, indicating that the UK was not a preferred market for their services consumers. The UK’s services export growth trend with the region was also mixed, as only just over half of the countries registered overall increases in their demand for UK services, with only Guyana being both a top five consumer and consistently demanding more UK services throughout. Other major services consumers, such as the Dominican Republic and Jamaica also showed a diminishing appetite for UK services, led by The Bahamas by virtue of the value of its decline.

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