CARIFORUM and UK EPA Study

Guyana was observed to have an overall comparative advantage in the export of Insurance and Pension services to the UK, despite not being the largest exporter of those services to the UK. Though Trinidad and Tobago’s very strong performance during the last three years of the period, signals the development of a potential growth industry for that country. Guyana, which is not known for having a strong financial services export sector, also emerged as the comparatively more dominant exporter of Financial services to the UK, with strong competitive margins relative to the DR and Jamaica, which exported a larger quantum to the UK throughout the period. However, the overall decline in CARIFORUM’s exports of Financial services to the UK suggests either the UK’s loss of attractiveness as a preferred destination for the region’s financial services exports, or an overall decline in the region’s competitiveness in that target market, possibly due to the effects of blacklisting and de-risking on CARIFORUM’s banking and financial services sectors, particularly over the last five years. Among the remaining sectors, Dominica, followed by Guyana, was determined to be the most competitive exporters to the UK in the Telecommunications, Computer and Information services category, which was another potential growth area for the region. Jamaica was also adjudged the most dominant competitive exporter of Personal, Cultural and Recreational Services , while Saint Kitts and Nevis was the overall most competitive exporter in the Government Goods and Services category. No clear leader emerged in relation to the Charges for the use of Intellectual Property category, while the DR was the only exporter of Manufacturing Services on Physical Inputs owned by the UK , and similarly Barbados in relation to exports of Maintenance and Repair Services and Construction services to the UK. Of these remaining sectors, however, only the export of Government Goods and Services appeared to hold any real potential for export expansion, while the Charges for the use of Intellectual Property appeared to be a largely untapped area, and perhaps a low hanging fruit for the strengthening of the region’s exports of services to the UK.

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