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The oil and gas industry has been
the most important in Trinidad & Tobago for some time. It had been in
long-term decline from the 1980s due to falling yields and low world
prices. More recently, however, new discoveries,
increased foreign investment and a steady increase in world prices have
reversed the trend. The first major petroleum find in thirty years, by
BHP Billiton in 2002 has revived production which had been falling since the
1970s.
In the summer of 2003, Trinidad signed a landmark
agreement with nearby Venezuela, one of the world's largest producers,
to collaborate in all aspects of the oil and gas industries. This
resulting increase in revenues has allowed the Government to substantially reduce
income taxes and re-institute free university education.
In 2006, as natural gas production expands, Trinidad and Tobago is already the
5th largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world.
The government's economic strategy is based on fiscal and
monetary discipline, private sector investment, and export-led growth. The
exchange rate in late 2004 was about $6.29=U.S.$1.00 and has been close to this
figure for over a decade. The stability of the currency against the U.S. dollar
has been maintained by the government's tight monetary policy. |
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The Free Trade Area
of the Americas
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The FTAA logo. The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
(Spanish: Área de Libre Comercio de las Américas (ALCA),
French: Zone de libre-échange des Amériques (ZLEA),
Portuguese: Área de Livre Comércio das Américas (ALCA)) is a
proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce trade barriers
among all nations in the American continents (except Cuba,
Venezuela and later Bolivia, which entered the
Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
in response).
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Live News Feed
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Venezuela -+-Trinidad &
Tobago |
As for Trinidadian
Prime Minister Patrick Manning, "he has a world vision very
different from ours," Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said, noting
that Trinidad hopes to host the
FTAA headquarters.
Chavez says he is leading Venezuela away from U.S.-style capitalism
and toward socialism _ a mission he says Jesus would have approved
of because he spoke for the poor. Chavez recalled telling Manning:
"Remember Jesus.",
AP reported. V.A.
newsfromrussia.com/2005/11/14/ |
 "We want
ideas to save our planet, to save the planet from the imperialist
threat. And hopefully in this very century, in not too long a time,
we will see this, we will see this new era, and for our children and
our grandchildren a world of peace based on the fundamental
principles of the United Nations, but a renewed United Nations.
And maybe we have to change location. Maybe
we have to put the United Nations somewhere else; maybe a city of
the south. We’ve proposed Venezuela. " |
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Hugo
Chavez Address to the United Nations at
trinidadandtobagonews.com |
Trade/Economy
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Not
having the benefit of NAFTA (the Free Trade agreement between
Mexico, USA and Canada) has spurred many new initiatives, alliances and
opportunities. One of the most provocative is the idea of Port of Spain
as a Hong Kong like port of entry for both South America and the
Caribbean. The
country's main trading partners are Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana in the
region and, further afield, the UK, the USA, Canada, Brazil and Germany.
Somethings afoot as a boom in construction
projects is evident everywhere on the two islands.The new $661.5 million
Piarco Airport is the most impressive piece of this trend thus far. It
is hoped the old airport will become a cargo hub....
The islands now cater to about 400,000 visitors annually; the industry
is worth about US$275 million to the Trinidadian economy.
The beautiful
North Coast of Trinidad overlooking the Caribbean may be an excellent
ground floor opportunity as plans to turn Las Cuevas Bay into a
destination get underway.
http://www.tradeind.gov.tt/
Noteworthy pages include &
Resource
Organizations plus &
taxes.
TnT Political / Government
Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ||
List of Brokers ||
Listed Securities
The Licensing Office at knowprose.com
A case study in bureaucracy
Trinidad and
Tobago Chamber
Includes
T & T,
& Caribbean
membership
list
no email or web-sites
US Embassy Trinidad & Tobago
"Trinidad and Tobago, ... has
shown an outstanding commitment to interdiction and has taken great
steps forward in the fight against the drug traffickers."
Leading
business publication out of Barbados
PLIPDECO - Trinidad
in Couva, one of several Trinidad ports
Point
Lisas Port another Gateway option between Northern and Southern
hemispheres. |
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increased foreign investment and a steady increase in world prices have
reversed the trend. The first major petroleum find in thirty years, by
BHP Billiton in 2002 has revived production which had been falling since the
1970s.
