New Commentary posted
Thursday 2 February 2012
Regional air transportation is once again up in the air. LIAT, the workhorse of the Caibbean, is embattled with Caribbean Airlines which flies on subsidised fuel from the Trinidad and Tobago government. LIAT lost EC$60 million over the last two years whie CAL declared a profit on the basis of its subsidised fuel. If the situation continues, LIAT will collapse. Yet Caribbean governments will not sit down together to work out a relationship that would benefit local and tourism travel.
French bridge to Brazil
Friday 27 January 2012
French President Nicolas Sarkozy in French Guiana
A new commentary has been posted. France and Brazil will be linked this year by a bridge from French Guiana. Does this bridge pose a threat to Guyana's economic links to Brazil? Guyana and Northern Brazil are also now linked by a bridge across the border river - the Takatu. This commentary discusses the issues after a visit to French Guiana by President of France Nicolas Sakozy.
Three Media Interviews on Commonwealth and Caribbean issues
Friday 20 January 2012
Two videos of media interviews before and after the Commonwealth Heads of Conference in Perth Australia held in October 2011 have been posted under "Videos"in the Lectures and Interviews section. While the interviews deal mainly with the Commonwealth, inevitably Caribbean issues crept into the discussion.
The first quarter 2012 edition of Global: the international briefing publication features an interview with Sir Ronald Sanders on the Commonwealth Australia Conference and the EPG Report.. It can be read with other Commonwealth material at: www.global-briefing.org or on this website in the Lectures and Interviews section.
New Publication on trade issues at the WTO
Sunday 15 January 2012
A new publication, Reflections from the Frontline: Developing country negotiators in the WTO, has been posted in the 'Books' section of this website. It tells the story of the hard battle of developing-country representatives at the World Trade Organisation for fair treatment. I have written the chapter "Asserting the Rights of Smallness: Small and Vulnerable Economies at the WTO" that documents the struggle of small and developing economies (SVE's) for benefits in the Doha Ministerial Round of negotiations. The chapter also argues the case for SVE's to maintain their solidarity at the WTO - it is a solidarity that others will seek to undermine in their own interest.