Current Projects

Project: Technical assistance to the CARICOM Secretariat Statistical Unit for Implementation of a Trade in Services Statistics Project
Agency/Counterpart: CARICOM Secretariat

Overview

C-TRADECOM is providing technical assistance to the CARICOM Secretariat for:

* Preparation of Common Guidelines for the collection, compilation and dissemination of statistics on international trade in services;

* Review and Compilation of existing data on worksheets to compile statistics on international trade in services and on investment flows and development of methods to fill the gaps identified;

* Review of survey instruments, questionnaires, data collection procedures, sampling methodology; and,

* Organization of workshops to sensitize and inform users, producers and suppliers of statistics on international trade in services

Objectives

The overall objective of this Project is to enable the development of statistical capacity in the areas of international trade in services and investment.

The Project addresses the need to increase trade and investment with specific reference to services. It is aimed at improving the capabilities of national statistical agencies to collect, compile and disseminate information for negotiators, policy makers, researchers and investors to be effectively analyzed and in turn, inform the decision-making process.

Critical Role of Statistics

Statistics function as a decision support system to enable proactive and informed decision-making by governments, private sector and individuals as the region seeks to negotiate advantageous positions with respect to its development. Reliable official statistics are not only essential for efficient public management but constitute a cornerstone to democracy by way
of providing objective criteria through which decisions can be made. Steps should be taken to ensure that the highest levels of integrity, independence and professional standards underscore the production of statistics in the region.

Adequate statistical data is also crucial to convincing national decision makers of the need for legislative and regulatory reform that will be required to support the implementation of the CSME. Such reform would be required to accommodate a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Available data also helps inform the strategic decisions of prospective investors.

The establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) will lead to the removal of restrictions to the provision of services, the movement of capital, persons and the right of establishment. As such, the main focus of the Project relates to the establishment of the CSME and monitoring the impact of its establishment of Member States. In order to assess the impact of the CSME the need has been identified to harmonize statistics and indicators in order to evaluate the status within Member States.