TRADE AGREEMENT COMPLIANCE AND MONITORING (GUYANA)

UNCLAS GEORGETOWN 001037 SIPDIS EB/TPP/MTA - EKOCH COMMRCE/TCC/4110 - MROLLIN USDA/ITP-FAS - BERTSCH STATE PLEASE PASS USTR FOR HIRSH SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD GY SUBJECT: TRADE AGREEMENT COMPLIANCE AND MONITORING (GUYANA) REF: STATE 152063 ¶1. Post provides to following information in response to reftel: A) The Economic/Commercial Section has dual responsibility for economic monitoring and reporting as well as for Post's commercial diplomacy efforts. The section consists of one Economic/Commercial Officer and one Foreign Service National Economic/Commercial Specialist. Post also maintains a relationship with the Foreign Commercial Service regional office in Santo Domingo. B) Embassy point of contact for trade compliance and monitoring is Ed Luchessi, Economic/Commercial Officer, tel: 011-592-226-4309, fax: 011-592-227-0240, e-mail: LuchessiEP@state.gov. Effective November 29, 2006, point of contact will be Nancy Long, Economic/Commercial Officer, e-mail LongNE@state.gov, other contact information same as above. C) Post rarely receives complaints about compliance with trade barriers. Rather, American business interests often contact Post when experiencing difficulty with local business partners or government regulatory authorities. The section typically works with the Guyana Office of Investment (itself the basis of most of the complaints),relevant regulatory authorities and the Office of the Prime Minister to resolve the concern. In terms of outreach, EmbOffs regularly meet with the local American Chamber of Commerce and promote such resources as the Trade Compliance Center's complaint hotline and the Foreign Commercial Service's on-line trade promotion portal. D) Post reports on barriers to trade and investment, both structural and informal, in its annual investment climate statement and through periodic reporting. Specific areas of concern remain lack of enforcement of intellectual property rights, government procurement oversight, and consistent and transparent enforcement of tax and customs regulations. When complaints arise regarding the CARICOM External Tariff, Post also interacts with the CARICOM Secretariat, located in Georgetown. ROBINSON