Today, Ambassador Miriam Sapiro delivered keynote closing remarks at Caribbean-Central American Action’s (C-CAA) 37th Annual Conference on the Caribbean and Central America. In her remarks, the Ambassador highlighted several key U.S. trade and investment-related initiatives in the region and stressed the importance the Obama Administration places on strengthening economic ties within the Caribbean Basin.
She noted that, “identifying new ways to promote trade, to generate new investment, and to improve our joint competitiveness in order to accelerate economic growth, create more jobs, reduce unemployment is a high priority for all of us.”
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Ambassador Sapiro gives keynote remarks at the 37th Annual Conference on the Caribbean and Central America
As evidence of U.S. economic engagement in the region, Ambassador Sapiro pointed to two free trade agreements that the United States brought into force last year, with Colombia and with Panama. U.S. exports were up more than 19 percent to Colombia and more than 17 percent to Panama in the first year following the agreements’ entry into force.
Additionally, Ambassador Sapiro relayed the outcomes of last week’s inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council on Trade and Investment, which was established under the U.S.-CARICOM Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). Areas for new U.S.-CARICOM collaboration include intellectual property protection, e-commerce infrastructure development, and regulatory and standards cooperation.
C-CAA is a not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting private sector-based sustainable economic development in the Caribbean Basin and Central America. The theme of this year’s two-day conference is “Advancing a Shared Agenda.”
