Services sector can boost Trinidad and Tobago's long-term growth

Trade and Industry Ministry deputy permanent secretary Ava Mahabir-Dass has said the service sector has the potential to have a positive impact on TT’s long-term economic growth. She said government is prioritising the development of Trinidad and Tobago’s trade policy 2024 during this fiscal year.

She was speaking at the Trade Ministers’ virtual roundtable and panel discussion, Mapping the Services Agenda, at the Caribbean Services Exporters’ Symposium hosted by the TT Coalition of Services on Wednesday.

Mahabir-Dass underscored the service sector’s importance to the government’s strategic plan for the country. She said the trade policy will contribute to the enhancement of trade in services and complement the work being done in the region to develop the regional services sector.

She said the government is also committed to speeding up efforts to further update the national e-commerce strategy to support the rise in digitally delivered services.

Mahabir-Dass said data was important to both policymakers and businesses in the sectors. She said the ministry has partnered with the TT Coalition of Service Industries (TTCSI) to do the National Services Exporters Survey (NSES). Also, the ministry has engaged with regional partners to participate in the Caricom International Trade in Services Consultancy, which seeks to build the capacity of statistical offices and central banks in compiling statistics on trade in services.

She said in addition, the government is increasing its support for capacity-building in the services sector through its partnership with the TTCSI for training local service providers.

She said targeted capacity-building is also supported through training programmes for prioritised sectors such as the Yachting Marine Apprenticeship Programme for the yachting/maritime sector, the Value Chain Investment Programme (VCIP) for the fashion industry, and the Spotlight Programme and Music Export Academy for the music services sector. The Government is committed to providing greater assistance to ensure service providers can access trade finance in the form of grant fund facilities.

Mahabir-Dass said the overall exercise was not being done in isolation. She acknowledged the role that TT plays as a member of the wider Caribbean community. Acknowledging that sectors across the region could learn from each other and work together, she said, “We are stronger together than we are apart.”

Other members of the panel included Barbados minister of state in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Business Development Sandra Husbands; Jamaica’s permanent secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce Sancia Bennett Templar; Caricom Private Sector Organization CEO and technical director, and Coalitions of Services Industries CEO Dr Patrick Antoine; TTCSI president Mark Edgehill; and TTCSI CEO Vashti Guyadeen. These panellists also emphasised the importance of stakeholders working together to create a regional force that could compete effectively on international markets.