CARIFORUM and UK EPA Study

There are also critical limitations on the participation of CARIFORUM’s energy producing countries in certain key sectors, which are likely to stymie any potential investments from mainly Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. This is because the limitation will prohibit them from undertaking foreign direct investment in activities such as the manufacturing of refined petroleum products and the manufacture and distribution of gas and gaseous fuels, which are sectors in which they are likely to have a reasonable opportunity to pursue investments in the UK, based on their available (both home-grown and foreign) expertise in the oil and gas sector. The performance obligations that are applicable to providers of Sales and Marketing services, will also have a tangible limiting effect on CARIFORUM investments in the UK, which will constrain the region’s ability to both increase its income and the retention of earnings from the Travel/Tourist market segment. The reservations related to the operation of Computer Reservation Systems will also clearly limit the ability of regional air carriers to provide Computer Reservation Services in the UK, unless this is done through an independently established entity. Therefore, regarding CARIFORUM’s investment considerations vis-à-vis the UK, the analysis suggests that CARIFORUM investors are likely to encounter several challenges in penetrating a subset of both the tangible and intangible goods producing sectors in the UK under the EPA. These include the provision, through Mode 3, of Banking and Financial services, Maritime (i.e., passenger and freight) Transportation services, Medical services, Sales and Marketing services, and the operation of Computer Reservation Systems, on the one hand. This is in addition to the conduct of mining and quarrying activities, the manufacturing of refined petroleum products, the production, transmission/distribution of electricity, the manufacture and distribution of gas and gaseous fuels, and the production and distribution of steam and hot water, on the other hand. Perhaps the main silver lining, however, is the fact that the UK’s Services Trade Restrictiveness Index confirms that Britain is among the least onerous regulatory jurisdictions, when compared to its OECD counterparts, thus making it a more open and welcoming investment destination than many of its inward FDI competitors, which may provide some comfort to CARIFORUM investors.

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