Smith to meet with Trade Department executives

Junior Minister for Financial Services and Economic Development, Lorna Smith, has announced plans to meet with senior executives in the Trade Department to move forward with key reforms related to the stalled Trade Commission and Investment Act.

Smith confirmed the meeting is set to take place today, Tuesday, April 15 and is aimed at reactivating progress on the Trade Commission, which had been suspended.

“We will be looking very shortly at getting… the Investment Act going, and there has to be some changes made to that Investment Act,” Smith said during an appearance on the Talking Points show.

The Junior Minister said the work would include important components like consumer protection and investment incentives for both BVI residents and foreign investors.

Smith stressed that changes will not be further delayed despite previous inaction. “Let me assure you that we will be moving ahead very quickly with the trade, the changes to the trade, well, not the commission, but certainly the Trade Act,” she said. “It should not and will not take several months. I give you my word,” she asserted.

She also highlighted the urgent need for consumer protection. “We certainly need to get our consumer protection up and going, so that people have a place to come to for recourse,” Smith explained. She added that the budget already provides for hiring staff to begin that work, even without a fully established Trade Commission.

Smith’s comments follow previous reports that the legal suspension of the Trade Commission had expired with no movement toward implementation. The Trade Commission Act passed in 2020 was meant to modernise trade licensing and consumer rights, but its activation has been repeatedly delayed.