The prowling 'Caribbean Tiger'

Dr. the Hon. Keith Rowley, Minister of Trade and Industry, Trinidad and Tobago

Apart from having the most dynamic economy in the English speaking Caribbean, Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) has emerged as a dominant player in the region, accounting for 88 per cent of CARICOM trade, and the country is also a major operator in the multilateral trading system.

With one of the highest rates of FDI in the region, our twin-island nation was dubbed the ‘Caribbean Tiger’ by international business publications in the 1990s. We have achieved remarkable fiscal and monetary results and experienced fifteen years of solid economic growth - an impressive performance which is expected to continue into 2008. Our economy has grown at an average rate of 8.4 percent over the last five years, carrying enormous opportunity for local and regional investors.

As one of the most prosperous, highly diversified and industrialized countries in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago’s economy is primarily energy-based, with large exports of oil, gas and downstream energy products providing the bulk of the country’s revenues. Along with its highly developed industrial base, the country also has a deeply entrenched manufacturing sector and a strong service sector, especially financial services.

Laying the foundations
Trinidad and Tobago maintains an open foreign investment regime, and we invite entrepreneurs to invest in our country, which is the world leader in exports of methanol and ammonia, and a key player in the LNG market, fulfilling some 77 percent of the import needs of the United States. In addition, we have been working diligently to lay the foundation for sustainable economic growth and development through expansion of the non-energy manufacturing and services sectors.

Economic diversification, building competitiveness and generating sustainable export-led economic growth are the triangle of strategies designed to enhance the economic landscape of Trinidad and Tobago.

Trinidad and Tobago offers international investors the following advantages: 

While we support investment across the entire economic spectrum, specifically, we are encouraging the development of the following areas of economic activity where we possess competitive advantages and a traditional resource base:


Strategic plans have been created for the development of each sector, and these provide a comprehensive overview of the specific industry, mechanisms for driving growth and investment, incentives for investors and strategic opportunities for business development.

One of our major goals to ensure economic sustainability is the integration of Trinidad and Tobago’s economy into that of Latin America, which will serve as a platform for positioning the country as the regional hub for business, commerce and investment. One of the major activities in support of this goal is the pursuit of stronger transportation linkages, and in this regard, COPA airlines will be flying directly between Port of Spain and Panama City from mid-march, 2008. In addition, Government has embarked on a program to make Spanish the country’s First Foreign Language, to provide prospective investors with a human resource base capable of transacting business in the two major languages of the region.

Entering the marketplace
Even more important though, is the recent launch of the Cuba Trade Facilitation Office, a company which functions under the Ministry of Trade and Industry and whose mandate is to be a conduit for Trinidadian businesses seeking to enter the Cuban marketplace.

Indeed, although Trinidad and Tobago has a population of 1.3 million, the effective market is in the vicinity of 14 million, because of our membership in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). This market becomes even larger through the Free Trade Agreements which this country has signed as part of CARICOM with our Latin American neighbors. Negotiations will soon commence to expand the latter FTA to include the rest of Central America, and discussions for a similar agreement are carded with MERCOSUR for the second half of 2008. The country also has preferential market access to Canada through CARIBCAN and the USA through the CBI. A wide network of Double Taxation and Bilateral Investment Treaties also characterise the country’s investment climate and outlook.

With all this in mind, the Ministry of Trade and Industry invites investors to explore business opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago, enhance their earnings and participate in one of the fastest growing and diverse economies in the Caribbean.

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