MENTORSHIP FRAMEWORK

In a recent paper analysing data available for 70,000 publicly listed companies worldwide, when it came to Caribbean companies, it reported that an average of 18% of board members and 29% of executives are women.[1] Furthermore, according to the latest World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report, there still remains a gender gap of 22% for executive level positions and a wage equality gender gap of 36% in Trinidad and Tobago.[2] This data coupled with the under-representation of women in certain fields in the country has been the impetus for the creation of a mentorship program targeted at mid to senior-level professional women who hold great potential for leadership.

This mentorship program will seek to pair mentees with senior regional/international professionals within their respective fields. The main objectives of the program will be to: 1) facilitate meaningful professional relationships where both mentors and mentees benefit from mutual knowledge-sharing and engagement; and 2) provide mentees with the necessary guidance in their respective fields that can aid in their career progression to a more senior-level. The program will be done on a phased approach with the first phase being open to a very limited pool of applicants and the program itself will run for six months.

TARGET

The pilot project will target women in AMCHAM T&T member companies who are involved in the fields of:

Economics (2 persons)

Science and Technology (1 person)

Information and Technology (2 persons)

The application period runs from Thursday 13th April, 2017 to Wednesday 10th May 2017.

To be eligible, the applicants must be an employee of an AMCHAM T&T member company. They must submit a completed Mentee application form, their CV, and two professional recommendations. Prospective mentees must ensure that they have sufficient time needed to fully take advantage of the opportunity during the six month period, as they are expected to actively participate in agreed upon mentoring activities. It is recommended that you meet with your mentor at least once every one or two weeks. However, the frequency and method of communication will be determined by the mentor and mentee.

Selection process

Candidates will be shortlisted by Thursday 25th May, 2017. The shortlisted candidates will then be required to participate in a brief interview. The final selection will be announced on Monday 12th June 2017.

You can download the application form below, and application should be emailed to franciscahector@amchamtt.com. For further information please contact 622-4466 ext.228

Mentee Application Form

[1] Abrahams, Scott, Luca Flabbi and Claudia Piras. 2016. Female Corporate Leadership in Latin America and the Caribbean Region: Representation and Firm-Level Outcomes. Working Paper No. IDB-WP-655. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank.

[2] World Economic Forum. 2016. The Global Gender Gap Report: 2016.

MEDIA RELEASE

13.04.2017

AMCHAM T&T AND IDB LAUNCH ITS WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

“The time is ripe to see more women in leadership positions in the ICT sector.” This was the sentiment expressed by Nuria Simo, Chief Information Officer, and General Manager Department of Information Technology of the IDB, during her visit to AMCHAM T&T, on Thursday 13th April 2017. Following her meeting with senior female ICT executives of AMCHAM T&T’s member companies, the business organisation and the IDB launched their Women in Leadership Mentorship Program. Addressing the group of leading women in the field of Information Technology she led the discussion on the challenges that she and many other women face when navigating the ladder of success. “We need role models for girls and young women to see that it is possible to be successful in senior ICT positions.”

The mentorship program which will be done in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank seeks to pair five (5) mentees with senior regional professionals in the fields of Science, Information Technology, and Economics. The mentors were selected from the IDB’s vast network of professionals.

An organisation which is known for its unapologetic stance on gender parity in the workplace, AMCHAM T&T’s CEO Nirad Tewarie stated that “this initiative is an extension of the theme of our recently concluded Women’s Leadership Seminar held in February #Be Bold For Change. We are ensuring that we make a conscious effort to not only add to the discussion but to be part of the solution.” He also added, “We are fully committed to seeing this through along with our partner the IDB, and it is our hope that this pilot project can serve as a template that other business service organisations can adopt and that we can expand.” Carina Cockburn, Chief of Operations for the local IDB office, echoed this sentiment and reiterated the IDB’s position that promoting gender equality is pivotal to its goal of accelerating the process of economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean

While applicants can only be selected from AMCHAM T&T membership base, it is important to note that AMCHAM T&T’s diverse membership covers all sectors of business.

For more information on the program, please visit here.

PRESS RELEASE

9.12.2016

AMCHAM T&T DISMAYED BY POLITICAL WRANGLING OVER CRITICAL FATCA LEGISLATION

The American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad & Tobago (AMCHAM T&T) is deeply disappointed by the continued political wrangling that is contributing to the delay of the passage of the critical legislation governing the implementation of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). While we believe that debate is the trademark of a healthy democracy, we assert that this should not occur at the expense of best interest of the country. Our elected leaders are entrusted by the citizenry to always put country first and to rise above the myopic political tactics that could cripple our financial institutions and be detrimental to our ability to do business with the rest of the world.

AMCHAM T&T has been very vocal on this issue and our views remain unchanged.  We believe that there is no need for a Joint Select Committee to be set up to review the Tax Information Exchange Bill. The minor amendments which may now be desired can be made without going to a JSC, which will unnecessarily delay the passage of the legislation within the timeline which T&T itself provided to the Government of the United States of America.   Non-compliance by the stipulated deadline could pose a major challenge for operations within financial institutions and in turn gravely affect our ability to do business with the rest of the world. This will also adversely affect our trade relationship with the U.S., who is still a major trading partner T&T.

We urge all legislators, in particular the Opposition, to let good sense prevail, and commit to passing the legislation forthwith.  We also take this opportunity to point out that co-operation between the Government and Opposition will be required over the next few months to ensure that our country meets its Caribbean Financial Action Task Force commitments to credibly show that we are committed to fighting money laundering, the financing of terrorism and other financial crimes.

We trust that our elected leaders will put politics aside to ensure that the interests of Trinidad and Tobago come first.

END

MEDIA RELEASE

14.09.2016

AMCHAM T&T ADVOCATES FOR PASSAGE OF FATCA LEGISLATION

 The American Chamber of Commerce of T&T (AMCHAM T&T) strongly urges the Government and Opposition to work together to ensure the passage of the Tax Information Exchange Bill 2016 (commonly referred to as the FATCA legislation) by the deadline date of September 30th, 2016.

We are of the view that our country is on the brink of being demoted to the periphery of the global financial system largely due to inaction on the part of politicians on both sides of the political divide. This is a crisis manufactured by politics to the detriment of the national interest. The former Government had ample opportunity to pass this legislation during its tenure, and the current Government has also had more than a year to ensure that this important piece of legislation was properly vetted, reviewed and passed.

We are mindful that there has been limited, if any, consultation with stakeholders on the legislation which is currently before the House. However, AMCHAM T&T is of the view that there is still enough time for both the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament to complete deliberations on the Bill and to ensure its passage before the 30th September 2016 deadline. The foregoing is critical since there has as yet been no indication that an extension of time is being contemplated by the U.S. Government.

Should this Bill not be passed by the deadline, the costs of participating in the international financial system can be impacted and ultimately, a possible loss of correspondent bank relationships could occur if this and other obligations are not met which could, in turn, lead to difficulties in conducting, for example, credit card transactions and wire transfers. This would mean that everything from buying goods or services online, to transferring money to pay university fees or purchase inputs for businesses would be affected.  Potential shortages and consequential increases to the prices of goods and services already in scarce supply would also arise over time as a consequence of the deadline not being met.

AMCHAM T&T is mindful that once the Bill is passed, guidelines for compliance will be developed by the regulators of financial institutions, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and the Securities Exchange Commission of Trinidad and Tobago. To this end, we encourage stakeholder involvement in the early stages of the development of these guidelines.

We caution that once this piece of legislation is passed, other critical pieces of legislation require urgent attention to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations. Failure to do so would continue to jeopardize our country’s links to the international banking system.

Several CARICOM countries, including Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas, have already passed their ‘FATCA’ legislation. It is our view that legislators on both sides of the aisle should put country first and work toward the passage of this legislation by the deadline.  The consequence of inaction is not something that we can either afford or entertain.

END

MEDIA RELEASE

 AMCHAM T&T – ‘BREXIT’ LONG-TERM IMPACT STILL UNCLEAR

As a very open, small island economy, which has deep political and economic ties to the United Kingdom, the results of the UK referendum on that country’s membership in the European Union will undoubtedly have an impact on Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. The real, long-term impact is unlikely to be clear for some time however.

Nonetheless, with the UK voters casting their ballots in favour of a “BrExit”, and while we await the vote being taken to the Parliament and the UK invoking Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union to allow for that exit, the Caribbean has several things to consider.

The first group of issues surround competitiveness. Concomitant with the victory of the “Leave” vote, the British sterling faced a sharp decline, reaching levels that it had not seen since the 1980s. The question of where the pound will settle and how long the volatility will persist is of some concern for several reasons. While a decline in the value of the pound may provide new opportunities for local businesses to source inputs from Britain and elsewhere in the UK, a sustained decline in value may also pose additional challenges as UK exports become cheaper and more price competitive, even in local markets. This will include services exports as the UK is second largest services export economy globally.

With a decline in the purchasing power of the British Sterling comes an attendant threat to regional tourism as the cost of a Caribbean holiday for UK travellers will increase. This is important because according to data on the Tourism Development Corporation website, the UK is our third largest source of tourists over the past decade. In raw numbers, on average over the past decade, 38,000 UK nationals visited T&T per year. Assuming that this number will fall if the cost of travel increases due to a devaluation of the UK currency, T&T will have to look for alternative markets. We therefore suggest that renewed efforts be placed on attracting tourists from near markets in Latin America and new markets in North America. In this regard, establishing Piarco International Airport as a pre-clearance port to the United States would be particularly valuable.

In the medium term, another area of uncertainty for the region is in our trade arrangements. Currently 15 Caribbean countries are in an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU, which allows for preferential trade and in some areas asymmetrical benefits (i.e. terms of trade that benefit the CARIFORUM more than the EU). Note here that the Parties to the EPA are 15 individual Caribbean States while on the other side, it is the European Community; and “Contracting parties to the Treaty establishing the European Community and the Treaty on the European Union” (i.e. not individual EU member states). If the UK is no longer a member state of the EU, then the applicability of the agreement to the UK comes into question.

Apart from the EPA, there is no legal framework allowing for preferential treatment between the UK and the English-speaking Caribbean. While we anticipate that the UK, being a longstanding development partner with the region, would not let our relationship wither, a strategy to prevent any negative impact of the Brexit and ensure the continuation of legal (in the context of the WTO) preferential trade, with the necessary certainty and predictability, should be devised quickly. Since CARICOM negotiates international treaties as a bloc, regional governments will need to move quickly to devise and execute a strategy to engage with both the EU and UK throughout the BrExit process.

For clarity:
Article 233 of the EPA – Definition of the Parties and fulfilment of obligations – states that:

Contracting Parties of this Agreement shall be Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Surinam, and Trinidad and Tobago, hereinafter referred to as the “CARIFORUM States”, on the one part, and the European Community or its Member States or the European Community and its Member States, within their respective areas of competence as derived from the Treaty establishing the European Community, hereinafter referred to as the “EC Party” on the other part.

Article 245 – This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty, and on the other hand, to the territories of the Signatory CARIFORUM States. References in this Agreement to ‘territory’ shall be understood in this sense.

END

Date: Thursday 12th May, 2016

Event: AMCHAM T&T Annual General Meeting 2016

Address by AMCHAM T&T President Ravi Suryadevara

Ravi Speech Luncheon AGM 2016

T&T OFF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WATCH-LIST

The Special 301 Report of 2016 was recently released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative. The annual report identifies barriers to trade posed by inadequate or ineffective intellectual property law enforcement in other countries.  This year, the report reviewed the protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in 73 of the US’s trading partners including Trinidad and Tobago. In the latest report, Trinidad and Tobago has been removed from the Watch List. This is extremely gratifying for us at AMCHAM T&T.

Trinidad and Tobago, along with CARICOM counterpart Barbados, appeared on the Watch List in 2013 (only one other CARICOM country, Jamaica, has been on the Watch List, dating as far back as 2006). In the release of the 2016 Report, 15 countries in the Western Hemisphere have been flagged. These include three countries on the Priority Watch List (Argentina, Chile and Venezuela) and the remaining 12 (including Jamaica and Barbados) on the Watch list.

AMCHAM T&T played a critical role in bringing stakeholders to the table, to ensure that IP infringements were duly mediated, and in that regard AMCHAM T&T would like to recognize the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) for their action in addressing some of these challenges. AMCHAM T&T also engaged with the US Embassy during the Special 301 consultation process. We also advocated for our removal from the list at our various meetings in Washington DC at the US Chamber of Commerce and with US policy-makers. We remain committed to working with the private sector, regulatory agencies and government bodies to resolve potential barriers to trade and to improve the efficacy of our IP regulation system, which we must do even more effectively to stay off of the Watch List.

The Special 301 Report provides national and global policymakers with a roadmap to develop a stronger IP system and should engender not simply a reaction to a U.S. government report, but spur a deliberate investment in the innovative future of our own economies. Remaining off this list and similar categorizations means stronger IPR enforcement, protection and sensitization among stakeholders.

BILL TO SUPPORT DEEPER CARIBBEAN-US RELATIONS CLEARS US CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE

In other US-policy news, a bill to increase engagement with the governments of the Caribbean, the Caribbean diaspora community in the United States and the private sector civil society in both the US and the Caribbean has been introduced in the US House of Representatives. The Bill can be cited as the United States – Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016. It was sponsored by Congressman Eliot Engel and co-sponsored by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Undoubtedly, AMCHAM T&T along with the SOCA member organizations have been working to keep, not only Caribbean trade in services with the US, but general US – Caribbean relations on the front burner.

If passed, the Bill would require the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to submit to Congress a multiyear strategy focused on: outreach to the countries of the Caribbean and diaspora communities in the U.S., improving energy security, countering violence, ramping up diplomacy, and other priority areas. These priority areas include support for regional economic, political, and security integration efforts in the Caribbean region; encouraging sustainable economic development and increased regional economic diversification and global competitiveness;

In addition, the Bill requires the Government Accountability Office to produce two key reports: An evaluation of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) and a breakdown of CBSI assistance provided to each country; and an evaluation of U.S. diplomatic engagement with the Eastern Caribbean. The former would undoubtedly assist Trinidad and Tobago as we attempt to tackle drug and arms trafficking and rationalize programs and spending in the fight against crime.

According to Representative Engel, “While they are sometimes overlooked, the countries of the Caribbean are profoundly important to the United States, and particularly to the many Caribbean-American citizens in the United States. With so many crises around the globe that demand U.S. attention, we can’t lose sight of our long-term interests closer to home but should instead strengthen and expand ties with our Caribbean neighbours”.

The multi-year strategy for United States engagement with the Caribbean region is to be submitted to the appropriate congressional committees no later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Act.

We at AMCHAM T&T intend to continue our engagement with Congress as we further develop our SOCA proposals for increasing business activity between the Caribbean and the US. We would be grateful for feedback or suggestions from our members in this regard.

Please read some of the SOCA background work at http://www.amchamtt.com/business-leaders-talk-us-caricom-services-trade-in-washington-advancing-soca-services-of-the-caribbean/ and let us know what we can do to create more opportunities for your businesses.

Read the full text of the bill here: https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/sites/democrats.foreignaffairs.house.gov/files/United%20States%20-%20Caribbean%20Strategic%20Engagement%20Act%20of%202016.pdf