Carib Scope

分类： business

  • Dominican Republic set for largest energy expansion in decades

    Dominican Republic set for largest energy expansion in decades

    Santo Domingo — The Dominican Republic is gearing up for its most ambitious expansion of energy infrastructure in more than 30 years, according to the nation’s top energy official. Joel Santos, Minister of Energy and Mines, announced that total installed firm generation capacity will surge by over 50% between 2025 and 2028, a development set to reshape the country’s economic trajectory.

    Addressing attendees of the 2026 Energy Market Summit held in the capital city Santo Domingo, Santos framed the planned expansion as a foundational investment that will reinforce the Dominican Republic’s capacity to underpin broad-based economic growth, draw in foreign and domestic capital, and sharpen its competitive edge in the Caribbean region. Currently, the country operates 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity across its national grid, with a further 1,000 megawatts scheduled to connect to the system by 2028 via projects that are already in active development.

    Santos emphasized that this large-scale expansion is a direct response to rapidly rising demand for electricity across the Dominican Republic. National peak electricity demand is projected to hit 4,250 megawatts this year alone, marking a nearly 59% jump from peak demand recorded back in 2019. He attributed this sharp increase to the robust expansion of the country’s core economic sectors, including tourism, manufacturing, domestic commerce, and consumer-focused services, noting that energy infrastructure development cannot lag behind overall economic growth if the country hopes to sustain long-term, inclusive development. “We cannot build a stronger economy on a weak energy foundation,” Santos told summit attendees, “every new hotel, every new factory, every new business relies on consistent, affordable power to operate.”

    The national government’s strategic energy plan centers on diversification of the country’s energy mix, integrating expanded renewable energy supplies, increased natural gas generation, and utility-scale energy storage systems to boost both the reliability and climate resilience of the national grid. Beyond generation capacity expansion, the administration is also advancing parallel efforts to extend electricity access to underserved communities, roll out widespread energy efficiency programs, strengthen the country’s energy regulatory framework, and accelerate the transition to a sector that is both more economically competitive and environmentally sustainable.

  • JTB cops 14th WAVE award for most supportive tourism board

    JTB cops 14th WAVE award for most supportive tourism board

    MARINA DEL REY, Calif. — On June 4, at an awards ceremony hosted at The Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) added another milestone to its legacy in global tourism, taking home the award for Best Travel Advisor Support at the annual TravelAge West WAVE Awards. This win marks the 14th time Jamaica has claimed this top honor across the 21-year history of the prestigious industry awards, an unmatched streak that JTB officials say underscores the destination’s longstanding, trust-centered partnership with travel professionals across the United States.

    Unlike many industry awards judged by panels or editorial teams, the WAVE Awards draw their results directly from votes cast by practicing travel advisors across the U.S., as well as the readership of TravelAge West, a leading trade publication for North American travel professionals. Honoring the highest-performing destinations, suppliers and service providers across more than 70 categories, the awards center the perspectives of the practitioners who connect travelers with destinations every day.

    For JTB, winning the Best Travel Advisor Support award holds unique meaning, because the recognition comes from the very agents who recommend Jamaican getaways to their clients on a daily basis. The honor directly reflects the strength of the island’s ongoing investment in training, fast, responsive client service, and robust on-the-ground support for travel trade partners, JTB representatives noted.

    Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett expressed deep gratitude for the repeated vote of confidence from the U.S. travel advisor community. “For the 14th time, the travel advisors of the United States have placed their trust in Jamaica, and we receive that vote of confidence with deep gratitude,” Bartlett said. “Behind every booking is an advisor who has chosen to put our island forward to their clients. This award belongs as much to them as it does to us. It signals to the world that when travellers seek an unforgettable Caribbean experience, the professionals they rely on think of Jamaica first.”

    Donovan White, JTB’s Director of Tourism, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that recognition from the advisor community carries more weight than almost any other industry honor. “This category is decided by the people who know our product best, so the recognition is one we value above almost any other,” White explained. “It reflects the work our sales and marketing teams do every day: the training, the prompt service, and the genuine partnership, to ensure advisors have everything they need to sell destination Jamaica with confidence. As we continue to expand our airlift and deepen our presence across the US market, that close relationship with the trade remains central to our strategy.”

  • ‘The New Digital Currency’ brings online reputation focus to Expoturismo 2026

    ‘The New Digital Currency’ brings online reputation focus to Expoturismo 2026

    Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic – As the global tourism industry grows increasingly digitized, the 29th iteration of Expoturismo 2026 will center one of the sector’s most pressing modern priorities: digital online reputation, via a targeted industry conference titled “The New Digital Currency.”

    The upcoming conference, slated for June 12 at the city’s Hilton Hotel Santiago Curio Collection, will be helmed by two seasoned industry professionals: Isaac Ramírez, a specialist in technology and digital business transformation, and Kenia Hernández, marketing leader and director of Ongoing Marketing Solutions. Over the course of the session, the pair will break down how search engine algorithms, interactive online maps, and user-generated review platforms have reshaped traveler behavior, emerging as make-or-break factors when consumers choose hotels, dining destinations, and local leisure experiences.

    Unlike many general-interest industry talks, this event is built to deliver actionable value for participating tourism businesses. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of cutting-edge technological tools designed to boost brands’ digital visibility, streamline proactive reputation management, and effectively mitigate damage from negative or harmful online content. The conference will also walk attendees through proven strategies to safeguard and reinforce customer trust – a commodity that industry analysts widely identify as the most valuable intangible asset for tourism operators in today’s digital-first economy.

    As a core component of the two-day Expoturismo 2026 event, which runs June 12 and 13 in Santiago de los Caballeros, the reputation-focused conference embodies the trade show’s longstanding commitment to fostering innovation, digital adoption, and new business growth across the Caribbean tourism ecosystem. According to event organizers, the session fills a critical gap in industry training, equipping small and medium-sized tourism businesses with the practical skills they need to hold their ground in an increasingly competitive, digital-centric global marketplace.

  • US consumer inflation hits fresh three-year high in May

    US consumer inflation hits fresh three-year high in May

    Fresh official government data released Wednesday confirms that United States consumer inflation has climbed to its highest level in three years, driven by skyrocketing energy costs that are rippling across the world’s largest economy, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    The headline consumer price index, the key benchmark for measuring changes in consumer goods and service costs, rose 4.2% year-over-year in May, an acceleration from April’s 3.8% increase. This marks the steepest annual inflation rate recorded since April 2023, and the reading aligned perfectly with projections from economic analysts.

    The root of the current energy price shock traces back to the US-Israel military campaign against Iran launched in late February. In response to the offensive, Tehran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the critical global chokepoint that facilitates the transit of roughly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil and natural gas supplies. The closure has upended global energy markets, sending fuel and energy costs soaring across the United States.

    May’s inflation breakdown underscores the scope of the energy crunch: energy prices jumped 23.5% year-over-year, with retail gasoline prices surging a staggering 40.5% annually. Grocery costs have also continued their upward climb, marking the second consecutive month of significant gains with a 2.7% annual increase. Even core inflation, which strips out the volatile food and energy sectors to give a clearer picture of long-term price trends, ticked up to 2.9% from 2.8% in April.

    For American households, this acceleration adds to years of persistent, higher-than-expected inflation that has stretched household budgets since the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. High prices have also become a defining political issue as the country approaches November’s midterm congressional elections. US President Donald Trump has sought to reassure the public, arguing the current price shock will be short-lived and that a peace agreement to resolve the Middle East conflict will be finalized in the near future. But Trump’s Republican Party, which is fighting to retain control of both chambers of Congress, faces growing headwinds as soaring costs erode voter satisfaction.

    The hotter-than-target inflation reading also puts increased pressure on the US Federal Reserve, which has a long-term 2% annual inflation target. The central bank’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to hold its policy meeting next week to adjust benchmark interest rates. While markets broadly expect policymakers to hold rates steady at the upcoming gathering, investors are now pricing in multiple interest rate hikes before the end of the year — a shift that has already spooked equity market participants, who fear higher borrowing costs will drag on corporate profits and economic growth.

  • QUANTAS Advantage Inc IPO oversubscribed

    QUANTAS Advantage Inc IPO oversubscribed

    KINGSTON, JAMAICA – In a strong vote of confidence from regional capital markets, Barbados-based investment firm Quantas Advantage Inc. has seen its initial public offering dramatically oversubscribed, drawing in more than J$2.38 billion in total investor subscriptions, far exceeding the company’s original fundraising target.

    The investment company had set an initial fundraising range of between US$9.38 million and US$15.47 million, equal to J$1.52 billion to J$2.5 billion, with a one-month subscription window for retail and institutional investors. When the offering period closed, official data from the company’s public release showed overwhelming uptake: 97% of the 134,058,691 ordinary shares made available were claimed, with a total of 2,204 individual applications submitted across the region.

    Thanks to the adjusted upsized offering structure put in place to accommodate the unexpected investor demand, every participating investor will receive 100% of the shares they requested in their applications, with no pro-rating required for smaller or retail applicants.

    Looking ahead, Quantas Advantage is now preparing the next step in its public market expansion: the firm has confirmed it will formally submit an application to the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee to secure a dual cross-listing for both its Jamaican-dollar (JMD) and United States-dollar (USD) denominated ordinary shares.

    The public offering price for each share was set at US$0.12, which equals J$19.3941 per unit. Two major Jamaican financial services firms have weighed in with analyst recommendations for the offering. Sagicor Investments Jamaica Limited encouraged investor participation, setting a 12-month price target of US$0.135 per share, or J$21.82. Independent analysis from JMMB Securities Limited set a wider price target range between US$0.1423 and US$0.1593 per share, issuing a “market perform” rating for general public investors and an “outperform” rating for the offering’s anchor investors.

  • BWU vows to defend workers amid layoffs

    BWU vows to defend workers amid layoffs

    One of Barbados’ most established construction firms is moving forward with planned staff cuts that have put it at odds with the country’s main labor organization, even as the national construction sector sees widespread growth. 66-year-old C.O. Williams Construction Ltd., which grew from a small one-tractor earthmoving business launched by founder Charles Williams in 1960 into a leading player in the island’s civil engineering and infrastructure space, notified all employees of impending redundancies in an internal June 5 memo, with cuts set to begin as early as June 12, 2026.

    In the official notice, the firm cited mounting pressures that have eroded its ability to maintain its current headcount. General manager Marc Atwell wrote that long-running operational challenges have sharply reduced the company’s competitiveness, forcing leadership to restructure and downsize the workforce to align with current needs. The memo followed all required notification protocols under company policy and Barbadian national labor law, and Atwell directed employees with questions to reach out to the company’s human resources department for further clarity. Neither Atwell nor other company leaders have responded to additional requests for comment since the memo became public.

    While Atwell did not disclose the exact number of workers facing job loss, the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), the exclusive bargaining agent for the company’s employees, says approximately 30 positions are set to be cut. The union has already entered into preliminary discussions with company leadership over the cuts, but has rejected framing the downsizing as a routine administrative step and is demanding concrete evidence to justify the layoffs.

    BWU officials emphasized that every affected worker supports a household with financial and personal obligations that cannot be reduced to line items on a corporate budget. The union’s top priority, it says, is protecting the dignity, legal rights, and earned entitlements of any workers impacted by the cuts, and ensuring no employee faces unfair treatment during the selection process. Company leaders have told the union that the planned layoffs stem from broader industry pressures, including lost contracts and ongoing headwinds across Barbados’ construction sector. But union leaders have pushed back against shifting the entire burden of these challenges onto workers, who did not create the market conditions the firm is facing.

    The BWU has demanded that C.O. Williams open meaningful consultation with the union, share verifiable evidence justifying the need for cuts, commit to a fair and objective process for selecting which roles will be eliminated, and guarantee that all legally required and contractually agreed severance and benefits are paid in full to displaced workers. The organization also used the dispute to highlight a broader national priority: building a Barbadian construction sector that prioritizes skilled labor, worker experience, and decent working conditions.

    The union’s stance is firm: it opposes unnecessary job cuts and will continue to uphold the principle that workers should never be treated as disposable when businesses face economic pressure. The planned layoffs come at a time when Barbados is experiencing a nationwide construction boom, a context that makes the company’s justification for downsizing all the more questionable to union leadership.

  • Tour operators call for reopening of Bush Bush Sanctuary

    Tour operators call for reopening of Bush Bush Sanctuary

    For months, a key protected eco-tourism destination in Trinidad and Tobago has remained shuttered, and the nation’s leading inbound tour operator collective is pushing authorities to reverse the closure, calling the current public health measure disproportionate and damaging to local livelihoods.

    The Trinidad and Tobago Incoming Tour Operators Association (TTITOA) is demanding a targeted, evidence-based rewrite of the current policy governing access to the Bush Bush Sanctuary, a protected natural area located within the Nariva Swamp. The site was sealed off to all visitors and entry permits suspended in March 2026, after local health authorities confirmed yellow fever viral traces in a deceased howler monkey found within the sanctuary’s boundaries.

    In an official statement released this week, TTITOA Vice President Stephen Broadbridge highlighted that the prolonged full closure has already caused immediate, measurable harm to local eco-tourism businesses and community members who rely on visitor activity for stable income. Unlike many casual tourist destinations, guided tours of Bush Bush Sanctuary have operated as a core community-led sustainable tourism offering for more than 30 years, providing a consistent livelihood for hundreds of people living in surrounding settlements.

    Broadbridge added that past yellow fever scares in the region do not support a full, long-term closure. More than a decade ago, a similar event unfolded when dead howler monkeys linked to yellow fever were discovered in the sanctuary. At that time, officials allowed tours to continue, the outbreak faded on its own, and no cases of human infection were ever recorded, he noted.

    TTITOA argues that the current blanket suspension of access fails to stand up to scrutiny on both public health and economic grounds. The association points out that yellow fever risks cannot be contained to the Bush Bush Sanctuary alone: both howler monkey populations (the species in which the virus was detected) and mosquito vectors that can spread yellow fever are distributed across multiple regions of Trinidad. If risk exists nationwide, closing just one site does little to improve overall public health safety, the group says, creating an issue of policy consistency that stakeholders have repeatedly questioned.

    Further, the association notes that eco-tourists who travel to Trinidad and Tobago specifically to visit sites like Bush Bush Sanctuary are typically well-informed about regional health risks, and the vast majority obtain required yellow fever vaccinations before arriving, which drastically reduces the chance of viral transmission.

    Instead of a full site closure, TTITOA has put forward a series of alternative policy recommendations that balance public health protection with the economic survival of the local tourism sector. The group is calling for strengthened public health advisories that mandate or strongly encourage vaccination for all visitors entering the sanctuary, clear, transparent risk communication strategies for tour operators and guests, and the resumption and expansion of the government’s game warden program. The warden program would allow the state to consistently monitor the sanctuary’s ecosystem, track yellow fever activity in local animal populations, and protect the ecologically sensitive site from unsustainable activity.

    The tourism sector in Trinidad and Tobago has already faced prolonged economic strain in recent years, and TTITOA emphasizes that overly restrictive, unbalanced measures threaten the long-term viability of a sector that supports thousands of livelihoods across the country. The association is urging public health and tourism authorities to open direct dialogue with industry stakeholders to craft response measures that are both effective at protecting public health and considerate of the sector’s economic needs.

    As of press time, repeated attempts by local media to reach Tourism Minister Satyakama Maharaj and Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Minister Ravi Ratiram for comment on TTITOA’s demands have not been successful.

  • Antigua and Barbuda Native, Dr. Dave Ray Awarded Honorary Doctorate at Grand Doctorate Convocation in San Francisco

    Antigua and Barbuda Native, Dr. Dave Ray Awarded Honorary Doctorate at Grand Doctorate Convocation in San Francisco

    On June 6, 2026, at a grand doctorate convocation ceremony hosted in San Francisco, California, Dr. Dave Ray — a dual-connected professional who is a US-based national of Antigua and Barbuda — received an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration from EuroAsian University, an international academic institution headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia.

    The honorary degree was conferred in recognition of Dr. Ray’s 37 years of transformative entrepreneurial work spanning both Antigua and the United States. Over nearly four decades of building and scaling his ventures, Dr. Ray has created and maintained stable full-time and part-time employment for 173 workers, lifting livelihoods across two regional economies. He was among 93 distinguished honorees at this year’s convocation, a truly global cohort of leaders representing 16 countries and territories across the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, North America, and multiple US states. The Caribbean honorees included representatives from St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, and Belize, while African honorees hailed from South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, alongside peers from the United Kingdom and Canada’s Saskatchewan province.

    A rare combination of seasoned scholar and hands-on industry practitioner, Dr. Ray already holds two earned doctorates: a PhD in Business Management and Applied Sciences from Walden University, awarded in August 2010, and a Doctorate in Professional Cosmetology from the National Institute of Cosmetology — an accredited program affiliated with the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa — which he earned in July 2012. Beyond his private sector work, Dr. Ray currently serves as the official US Diaspora Representative for the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, acting as a key bridge between the island nation and its community of expatriates and professionals working in the United States.

    In remarks following the conferral of his honorary degree, Dr. Ray emphasized that professional recognition carries meaning only when it expands positive impact for others. “Inspiring others is not enough — we must influence action,” he stated. Dr. Ray went on to outline his ongoing commitments: setting a high bar of leadership for his five grandchildren, sharing decades of institutional knowledge to advance innovation in the global beauty industry, and expanding access to economic opportunity for underserved communities across regions.

    Throughout his decades-long career, Dr. Ray has positioned himself as a catalytic leader in the beauty and personal care sector. He has led industry-focused seminars and professional development workshops for emerging practitioners, led product research and development initiatives for major global beauty brands, and developed product lines tailored to both general consumer markets and underserved ethnic hair and skincare segments. His work uniquely blends visionary entrepreneurial leadership, applied market-driven research, and tangible, sustained workforce development that creates long-term value for workers and communities alike.

    EuroAsian University, the institution granting the honorary degree, is an international higher education organization centered on advancing cross-border academic excellence and celebrating outstanding leaders who drive inclusive social and economic progress across the globe.

  • VES betwist begrotingstekort van 5,1%: Werkelijk tekort is 7,7% van BBP

    VES betwist begrotingstekort van 5,1%: Werkelijk tekort is 7,7% van BBP

    Paramaribo, Suriname – The Association of Economists of Suriname (VES) has raised sharp questions over the methodological approach the current administration has used to calculate its projected 2026 national budget deficit, arguing that the actual gap between public spending and revenue is far larger than the government has reported. According to VES Secretary Swami Girdhari, the real deficit will reach 7.7% of gross domestic product (GDP), not the 5.1% officially claimed by the Surinamese government.

    The Council of Ministers gave its approval to the 2026 Amended Budget Memorandum on May 21, which outlines total projected public spending of 77.4 billion Surinamese dollars (SRD) against total projected revenue of 64.6 billion SRD. Under the government’s calculation framework, this results in a deficit of 12.8 billion SRD, which equals 5.1% of the 252.2 billion SRD official projected GDP for 2026.

    Girdhari, in an interview with local outlet Starnieuws, noted that the biggest red flag is the sharp upward revision to the 2026 GDP estimate. As recently as September 2025, official projections put national GDP at roughly 180 billion SRD. The new 252.2 billion SRD estimate represents a 40% increase in just nine months. Even after accounting for projected annual inflation of roughly 10%, the implied real GDP growth comes out to nearly 30% – a figure Girdhari says lacks clear justification. “The question is whether this level of growth is realistic,” Girdhari said. “The Ministry of Finance and Planning needs to provide the public with a full breakdown of the underlying calculations that led to this estimate.”

    A core point of VES criticism centers on the government’s classification of borrowed funds as regular revenue. Per the amended budget, the government expects 42.5 billion SRD in direct and indirect tax revenue and 15 billion SRD in non-tax revenue, totaling 57.5 billion SRD in baseline receipts. The administration then adds 7 billion SRD in new loans to hit the 64.6 billion SRD total revenue figure.

    This accounting approach is fundamentally incorrect, Girdhari argues. “Loans are not revenue – they are financing instruments that increase the state’s future debt obligations, and should never be counted as regular operating income,” he explained. When the 7 billion SRD in new loans is excluded from revenue in line with standard international budget accounting rules, the actual financing gap grows to nearly 20 billion SRD, pushing the deficit up to the 7.7% of GDP the VES estimates. The association emphasizes that international fiscal standards require a clear separation between regular revenue streams (including taxes, non-tax receipts, and grants) and financing sources such as loans and reserve withdrawals, noting that this distinction is required to produce a transparent, accurate picture of the government’s true fiscal position.

    VES also warns that financing the deficit and meeting existing debt obligations remains a major unaddressed risk for 2026. The current budget framework leaves the government heavily dependent on new borrowing to cover a large share of planned spending, and 9.4 billion SRD in existing debt repayments are scheduled for next year. The association is calling for the publication of an up-to-date debt sustainability analysis to give the public a complete view of the country’s overall fiscal standing, saying the government has not yet explained how it will meet its existing debt repayment obligations.

    Beyond 2026, VES has raised concerns over the government’s medium-term fiscal projections included in the budget’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, which covers the 2026 to 2030 period. The government projects steady growth in both revenue and spending over the five-year window, with budget surpluses emerging between 2027 and 2029, growing to 9.6 billion SRD by 2029. However, the framework projects a return to deficit in 2030, with a shortfall of 9.9 billion SRD.

    Girdhari calls this swing from a nearly 10 billion SRD surplus to a nearly 10 billion SRD deficit in just one year – a 20 billion SRD shift – extremely unusual. He notes that the shift is driven almost entirely by soaring debt repayment requirements: scheduled debt repayments rise from 9.3 billion SRD in 2029 to 32.3 billion SRD in 2030. This jump is tied to the November 2025 debt restructuring agreement, which requires Suriname to repay roughly $1 billion in 2030. “In practice, this shifts a massive financial burden onto the administration that takes office in 2030,” Girdhari said.

    Finally, the association is warning against excessive optimism around anticipated future oil revenue, which appears to underpin much of the current budget framework. VES says the government risks implicitly counting unearned future oil income in its current spending plans, despite the fact that these revenues have not yet been realized. Girdhari pointed to global precedent showing that countries that increase public spending before commodity revenues actually materialize often face severe fiscal crises when output or prices fall short of projections.

    To address these risks, VES is calling for strict fiscal discipline, full public transparency around all budget calculations, a robust savings and investment strategy for future resource revenues, and strong institutional safeguards to reduce the impact of politically driven budget cycles that prioritize short-term spending over long-term fiscal stability.

  • Top former US govt trade expert to discuss “Growing Business with the United States” in Guyana

    Top former US govt trade expert to discuss “Growing Business with the United States” in Guyana

    Against a backdrop of shifting global trade dynamics and recent U.S. tariff policy changes that have impacted cross-border commerce, World Trade Centre Georgetown (WTCG) is preparing to host a high-profile business luncheon focused on expanding commercial ties between Guyanese enterprises and the U.S. market. Scheduled for Wednesday, June 17, 2026, the event titled “Growing Business with the United States” will feature Arun Venkataraman, a globally recognized veteran trade policy expert with decades of high-level experience in international commerce.

    This luncheon forms a core part of WTCG’s long-standing mission to foster and strengthen bilateral trade and investment links between Guyana and its international economic partners. As Guyana continues to grow its global economic footprint and work to diversify its national export base, the organization has curated this event to give local business leaders direct access to insights from one of the most authoritative voices on U.S. trade and commercial policy.

    Venkataraman brings over 25 years of specialized experience across international trade, commercial strategy, and global economic policy. Most recently, he held a Senate-confirmed position as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the International Trade Administration, serving from 2022 to 2025. In this senior role, he led U.S. federal government initiatives to expand commercial opportunities for both American enterprises operating abroad and international firms looking to enter and invest in the U.S. market.

    His core responsibilities during his tenure included facilitating cross-border business transactions, advocating for improved global commercial policy frameworks, resolving trade and investment barriers, and negotiating bilateral agreements to strengthen commercial cooperation between the U.S. and partner nations. During the upcoming luncheon, WTCG confirms Venkataraman will deliver actionable insights on current U.S. trade and commercial policies, existing trade preference programs, and other regulatory mechanisms designed to support foreign businesses entering the U.S. market. His presentation will center specifically on how Guyanese companies can leverage these frameworks to boost export volumes, build strategic cross-border partnerships, attract foreign direct investment, and strengthen their overall global competitiveness.

    The event comes at a critical juncture for Guyanese exporters, as global trade continues to be reshaped by evolving geopolitical dynamics, ongoing global supply chain realignment, and shifting trade and investment policies among the world’s largest economies. Policy decisions made by the U.S. on tariffs, market access, and commercial partnerships increasingly shape global business strategies and the competitive position of exporters across every region, including Guyana.

    For Guyana, deep familiarity with these evolving policy shifts has grown even more urgent following recent changes to U.S. tariff rules that affect a range of Guyanese exports. The elimination of duty-free treatment for certain products, replaced by tariff rates as high as 15 percent, has created new headwinds for exporters working to maintain and grow their share of the U.S. market. These policy changes underscore the urgent need for local businesses to stay updated on evolving U.S. trade rules and develop targeted strategies to preserve their competitiveness while capitalizing on new emerging opportunities in the U.S. market.

    In an increasingly complex global trading landscape, access to authoritative, first-hand insight on U.S. trade policy is an invaluable resource for local enterprises. WTCG emphasizes that Guyanese businesses need to understand both the challenges created by recent policy shifts and the untapped opportunities that remain within the growing framework of U.S.-Guyana commercial relations.

    This exclusive luncheon offers a one-of-a-kind chance to gain direct insight from a leader who helped shape and implement U.S. trade policy at the highest level of government. WTCG argues that equipping local businesses with timely, accurate information and practical industry knowledge is essential to allow Guyana to fully capitalize on its rapid economic expansion, while deepening its integration into regional and global value chains.

    The event is expected to deliver particular value for exporters, manufacturers, service providers, cross-border investors, business support organizations, and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their commercial operations beyond Guyana’s borders. Beyond the formal presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to engage directly with Venkataraman during a dedicated question-and-answer session, as well as in targeted private one-on-one discussions following the main program.

    The luncheon aligns with WTCG’s core institutional mission: connecting Guyanese businesses to global markets and creating avenues for meaningful international economic engagement. As a member of the World Trade Centers Association Network, which includes more than 300 World Trade Centers across over 100 countries, WTCG remains dedicated to providing local Guyanese enterprises with access to world-class expertise, actionable market intelligence, and high-impact business development opportunities.

    All members of Guyana’s business community and interested stakeholders are invited to register for the event. For registration details and additional information, interested attendees may contact the WTCG Secretariat at 592-763-9824 or 592-515-9824 to speak with Ms. Noel or Ms. Peters.