Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon on Monday outlined a number of initiatives aimed at boosting T&T's non-energy exports by "placing a high level of importance on attracting investments that are development focussed, improving our overall competitiveness and diversifying and expanding our export markets."
Gopee-Scoon was speaking at the launch of the Annual Economic Review Report on Trinidad and Tobago 2016 by the Oxford Business Group.
She said to promote and facilitate domestic and foreign investment and export-led trade, the Ministry of Trade and Industry was seeking to develop and implement a National Export Strategy focused on the enhancement of export performance and the penetration of new markets and deepening regional trade relations with Venezuela, Chile and Cuba, among other countries.
The ministry is looking at the implementation of an Integrated Investment Promotion Strategy in fiscal 2017 aimed at creating a favourable investment climate underpinned by efficient collaboration between state agencies and ministries.
The ministry will also strengthen the Single Electronic Window (SEW) for trade and business facilitation through a loan arrangement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and will review and modernise the legislative and institutional frameworks for the areas relating to trade and business.
She said: "We anticipate that these initiatives, few among many, will be instrumental in creating new opportunities for trade and investment which ultimately contribute to the achievement of the goal of transforming the economy."
Also speaking at the function was Andrew Jefferys, the CEO of the Oxford Business Group, who said that notwithstanding the economic challenges, a CEO survey conducted by the Oxford Business Group on business leaders across all sectors of T&T's economy indicated that companies are in fact taking advantage of this period of slower growth to assess their operations and prepare for future expansion.
The survey showed that 66 per cent of respondents said that government spending drives 40 per cent or less of their sector's business; 44 per cent of companies are either likely or very likely to make a significant capital investment in the next 12 months and 70 per cent of the respondents said T&T's tax environment is competitive or very competitive.
Jefferys also highlighted the underlying strengths of the local economy, saying: "The global economy is still recovering from the lingering impacts of the financial crisis. In T&T, the tools for recovery are ready and available, and we believe that T&T is taking many of the steps that will create long-term growth."
He spoke favourably of the country's political stability, economic landscape and educated and skilled human capital.