T&T Trade Ministry Gauging U.S. Interest in Trade

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000336

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA/CAR, WHA/EPSC, INR/IAA AND EEB/TPP/BTA
PASS USTR FOR E.EISSENSTAT AND K.SHIGETOMI
NSC FOR V. ALVARADO
USDOC/ITA/LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN - G.WORD, M.BROOKS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD PREL ECON TD
SUBJECT: T&T Trade Ministry Gauging U.S. Interest in Trade
Consultation

Ref: POS 297


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Senior officials from T&T's Ministry of Trade and
Industry reiterated their government's interest in exploring
possibilities for a more "sustainable" framework for bilateral trade
after 2010. They do not expect CARICOM as a whole will be prepared
to negotiate in the near term, so T&T would need a formula that
allows the willing to move forward while assuring smaller islands do
not feel left out. Post reiterates reftel recommendation that State
and USTR consider reengaging T&T on trade. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) ECON Chief met with Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI)
Permanent Secretary (PS) Margaret Parillon, Deputy PS Roslyn Khan
Cummings and Trade Specialist Randall Karim on July 21 to follow up
informally on recent meetings (reftel) in which top GOTT officials
have signaled interest in developing a framework for their nation's
trade with the U.S. after 2010, when the Caribbean Basin Trade
Partnership Act is scheduled to expire and T&T will no longer be
eligible for the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).


3. (SBU) The MTI officials thanked the Embassy for assistance in
clarifying to local media and business organizations the minimal
trade impact of T&T's GSP graduation. In the aftermath of the GSP
announcement, Prime Minister Manning had raised the issue of trade
with the U.S. at the recent CARICOM summit in Antigua, underscoring
the need to develop a more "predictable" framework for U.S.-CARICOM
trade (ref). The immediate outcome of that discussion was a mandate
for the CARICOM Chair to write a letter to the U.S. House Ways and
Means Committee Chair. The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery
(CRNM) also was looking at the "technical merits" of opening a trade
negotiation with the United States. For its part, T&T as the
ministerial chair for CARICOM bilateral trade was in a position to
pursue the idea in CARICOM's Council on Trade and Economic
Development (COTED).


4. (SBU) Noting the reference to a "more predictable framework,"
ECON Chief asked if that means a free trade agreement (FTA). Karim
responded there are differing views in T&T on whether this is the
right time to consider an FTA with the United States, but he
affirmed interest is growing as a result of T&T's graduation from
GSP and the limited duration of the CBTPA renewal. Deputy PS
Cummings reported that the T&T Manufacturers Association's initial
FTA enthusiasm following the GSP announcement had cooled with the
realization that most manufactured goods produced in T&T would
continue to enjoy duty-free access to the U.S. market even without
GSP or CBTPA. Nevertheless, others see a clear need to secure
preferential access for both the 20 to 30 percent of T&T's exports
to the U.S. that have entered under CBTPA in recent years and the
new export products expected from a series of natural gas-based
industrial and petrochemical projects currently in the works.


5. (SBU) Alluding to past GOTT requests for a "partial scope" trade
agreement covering energy-based products, Karim asked whether the
U.S. has any free trade agreements covering certain sectors only
that could serve as a precedent. ECON Chief replied that he was not
aware of the U.S. negotiating any such agreements in recent years,
adding that the U.S. has consistently taken a strict view of the WTO
standard that FTAs must cover "substantially all" trade.


6. (SBU) PS Parillon said T&T would be interested in consulting with
the U.S. to identify practical steps that could pave the way for
future U.S.-CARICOM trade negotiations. MTI officials were not
optimistic that CARICOM as a whole would be in a position to engage
meaningfully with the U.S. anytime soon. Karim conveyed low
expectations for the process of revising the US-CARICOM Trade and
Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA),which he characterized as
"unambitious." At the same time, T&T would need CARICOM's consent
to move toward a trade negotiation with the U.S., whether on its own
or as part of a small group of leading economies. The U.S. is too
important a trading partner for CARICOM to let T&T "get away" with
the strategy it had used to lead CARICOM into a negotiation with
Central American countries by first striking out on its own to
negotiate an FTA with Costa Rica. Karim suggested that a formula is
needed that would allow the willing members to move forward while
assuring smaller islands in particular that they would not be left
behind. T&T could put the idea on the agenda of the COTED, which
next meets in October.


7. (SBU) Karim asked whether and how the U.S. might be willing to
frame trade consultations. Noting that he had no instructions from
Washington, ECON Chief underscored that in an election year and with
Trade Promotion Authority having expired, the U.S. would not be in a
position to discuss market access, but other elements of an FTA

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might provide substance for constructive dialogue. ECON Chief
undertook to seek Washington's views.


8. (SBU) COMMENT: T&T's Ministry of Trade and Industry had high
expectations going into the October 2006 meeting of the U.S.-CARICOM
Trade and Investment Council. When those expectations were not met,
MTI moved the U.S. down its list of negotiating priorities. GSP
graduation and the two-year renewal of CBTPA now have T&T trade
officials asking whether it is time to reconsider priorities. MTI
officials made clear that they have more thinking to do, but they
also seek some indication of interest from the U.S. Post continues
to believe this presents an opportunity to engage T&T on trade,
within political and resource constraints.

KUSNITZ