The CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce T&T (AmchamTT), Nirad Tewarie, has expressed concern that Haitian nationals need visas to enter T&T. He highlighted the issue when AmchamTT hosted a Doing Business in Haiti session at The Normandie Hotel on Thursday.
"As part of Caricom, Haitians should be granted access to Trinidad and Tobago, especially if they already possessed a US, Canadian or Schengen Visa and to continue to do otherwise undermines the letter and spirit of Caricom and makes it more difficult to do business with Haiti, whose economy has been growing by more than three per cent a year over the past two years," he said.
The Doing Business in Haiti session was a prelude to a trade mission to scheduled from June 14 to 18 and organised in collaboration with Amcham Haiti. The trade mission coincides with the Business Future of the Americas (BFA) Conference which will be held for the first time in Port-au-Prince, Haiti at the Marriott Hotel. The BFA is an annual conference hosted by The Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA) secretariat and its 24 member American Chambers of Commerce throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. This year's theme is Diaspora Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean and the conference will provide the latest information and best practices on channelling investments from the diaspora and sustainable methods for working in emerging markets.
Participants in the trade mission will have the opportunity to be part of this prestigious conference as well as explore avenues for trade and investment in Haiti. The AmchamTT delegation will participate in a Presidential Dinner and US Ambassador's Reception while in Haiti.
As a country that has experienced a number of economic setbacks as a result of political unrest and national disasters, Haiti has been working on rebuilding its country and its people and has declared to the global community that it is open For business. This declaration was highlighted by Ivy Kuperberg, director of Promotions at the Haitian Centre for Investment, as she outlined some of the benefits open to investors, including, total exemption from income tax and municipal taxes for up to 15 years.
"Haiti is a country of unexploited business opportunities, in a strategic location, has a pro-business government and a fully liberalised economy and provides a platform to access 600 million consumers through free trade agreements and preferential access," she said.
Dhanraj Harrypersad, manager, exporTT said as a part of its partnership with AmCham T&T, the agency will provide any specific market research companies may need to aid in their investment decisions.
Tewarie urged businesses to take advantage of this opportunity as Haiti offers tremendous potential.
"Haiti is a free market economy that enjoys the advantages of low labour costs and tariff-free access to the US via CBI (Caribbean Basin Initiative) and HOPE (Hemispheric Opportunities through Partnership Encouragement Act), for many of its exports," he said.
Tewarie highlighted other areas of investment such as light manufacturing, food and beverage, medical supplies and equipment, tourism and building and modernising Haiti's infrastructure.