THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), recently facilitated a national capacity building workshop on trade remedies for public and private sector representatives.

The forum provided an overview of safeguard measures, anti-dumping measures, subsidies and countervailing measures, and special economic zones and the subsidies and countervailing measures agreement.

Trade remedies are measures used to counter instances of unfair trading practices such as dumping by exporting countries that can suffocate local industries producing similar products. Guyana presently does not have domestic legislation or a regime to investigate and discipline such practices.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also currently engaged in efforts to have legislation related to anti-dumping and countervailing measures enacted.

The workshop sought to build an understanding of the issues and to help the relevant agencies acquire the necessary skills to investigate instances of unfair trading practices.