ORGANISATION OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES
INVITATION FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
ACPEU/TradeCom II Programme, “Consolidating the OECS Economic Union through Sustainable Trade Capacity Building”
Grant No.: FED/2019/405-401
Assignment Title: Consultancy Services for Export and Import Requirements Legislation Data Collection (Montserrat)
Reference No. LC-OECS Commission-CQS-LDC-MONT.
The &nbOrganisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission invites interested eligible Individual Consultants to submit Expressions of Interest for the provision of Consultancy Services for Export and Import Requirements Legislation Data Collection (Montserrat) under the Consolidating the OECS Economic Union through Sustainable Trade Capacity Building Project.
The Terms of Reference and Guidelines for the Submission of Expressions of Interest for this consultancy are provided below.
THE ORGANISATION OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES COMMISSION
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRAdE POLICY UNIT
Terms of Reference
CONSULTANCY SERVICES - EXPORT AND IMPORT REQUIREMENTS LEGISLATION DATA COLLECTION (MONTSERRAT)
Qualifying sentence: trade in goods and services
The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) was established in 1981 when the Treaty of Basseterre was signed. The primary objectives of this inter-governmental organization are to promote cooperation, harmonization, and integration among its Member States. The Revised Treaty of Basseterre (RTB), signed on 18th June 2010, further reaffirmed the commitment of the OECS Member States to deepening the regional integration process through establishment of a full economic union (Eastern Caribbean Economic Union – ECEU) and ensuring that Member States continue to adopt a common approach to trade, health, education and the environment, as well as to the development of such critical sectors as agriculture, tourism and energy.
OECS Member States are committed to the goal of advancing global participation, dialogue and regionalisation. However, as the OECS region deepens its thrust to integrate with the global economy, its trade-related technical assistance and capacity building needs have been magnified. The Eastern Caribbean Economic Union (ECEU) is in a unique position among Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as the RTB accords the Organization with exclusive competence for trade policy. According to the RTB, the Protocol Member States have committed to act as a single entity in the coordination and articulation of their trade policy, through the OECS Commission. Emerging circumstances within the national, regional and global contexts provide more impetus to accelerate the transition by Protocol Member States from a national to a regional approach to treat with trade policy.
Discussions over the nature of an African, Caribbean, Pacific – European Union (ACP-EU) relationship post-Cotonou, including the framework for future cooperation among the countries, are already challenging the resource capabilities of the OECS Member States. Given the weight of the United Kingdom in the export profile for the OECS Member States, these resource constraints are further evidenced by significant risks posed to the Member States as they explore options to respond to the formal exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union (“Brexit challenge”) and manage the complicated relationship between the UK and the EU in financial services and remittance flows, inter alia. Furthermore, as traditional markets attempt to increase protectionist measures, there is greater impetus for emphasis on South-South cooperation on matters of trade and new forms of cooperation in areas such as trade logistics, trade infrastructure and trade facilitation. OECS trade policy, therefore, must strategically position the ECEU to enhance its global market integration.
Guided by its six strategic objectives, therefore, the OECS works across its programmatic areas and in all Member States to consolidate the single economic space for enhanced economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection through, inter alia, initiatives aimed at:
The RTB therefore places the ECEU in a unique position to adopt regional approaches to analyse and measure the aggregate effect of trade on the Economic Union, as the RTB enables its Protocol Member States[1] to accord the OECS exclusive competence for trade policy. Moreover, these Member States have committed to act cohesively in the coordination and articulation of their trade policy, under the technical guidance of the OECS Commission.
1 Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
The OECS Commission has secured funding under the EU-funded ACP TradeCom II Programme to implement a regional project, “Consolidating the OECS Economic Union through Sustainable Trade Capacity Building” (STCB), to assist Member States and the OECS Commission to fully implement the OECS Economic Union in order to deepen regional integration and facilitate integration of the Protocol Member States into global markets through greater participation in regional and international value chains. The ACP TradeCom II programme would support this by producing (1) a cadre of trained and certified trade policy professionals and practitioners to operationalize the exclusive competence of the OECS Commission mandated by the RTB; (2) well-defined mechanism for private sector involvement in trade policy dialogue and decision making; (3) a single modernised and strengthened OECS trade policy coordinated by the OECS Commission and, led and implemented by the OECS Protocol Member States and (4) a harmonized Trade Information and Facilitation Platform (TIFP) to support trade policy analysis, negotiations and seizing opportunities and synergies for trade by the private sector.
The International Trade Centre (ITC), through provision of its Trade and Market Intelligence (TMI) Platform, is providing technical assistance to the OECS member states to enable them to take advantage of expanding trade opportunities. The TMI consists of continuously evolving market analysis tools and related capacity building services to improve the understanding and the use of the multilateral trading system by stakeholders in developing countries, like the OECS Member States. In particular, the TMI works on increasing awareness of firms and institutions in Market Access related data like customs tariffs, taxes and non-tariff measures, which are key to improving business and trade facilitation for existing and potential traders and investors. In this context, the OECS Commission is looking for a consultant familiar with trade regulations, to collect Market Access related-data in Montserrat to improve TMI insight within that country.
The main objective of this Consultancy is to identify, collect, consolidate and process all relevant information and documentation required for exporting and importing goods into Montserrat.
OECS Protocol Member States: Montserrat.
Under the overall guidance of ITC’s Chief TMI and the direct supervision of a market analyst, the consultant will undertake the following specific tasks:
1. Identify and Collect trade legislation documents from the official sources of Montserrat such as the Ministries with responsibility for trade, agriculture & fisheries, customs & finance, environment, business development/export competitiveness, standards & quality, etc.
2. Transfer the information collected for Montserrat into ITC’s Data entry tool. Only the active relevant regulations and related documents are collected and registered on the ITC Data Entry Tool platform (DET).
3. Provide one pager descriptive summary of Montserrat collected legislations, what type of major measures each legislation stands for and the reason why they are enforced.
The consultant is required to deliver the following:
1. Tariff and Non-Tariff measures (NTMs) of Montserrat fully registered on the DET platform. The official legislations containing trade measures, either import or export requirements currently imposed or those coming into force within the fiscal year.
1. COVID-19 Protocols hinders the ability of the consultant to gather required data (for example limited face-to-face consultations, the availability of key stakeholders for virtual interviews, and the availability the technology and supporting infrastructure.)
The Consultant will be located at its usual place of business. However, the Consultant will be required to maintain contact with the Client.
This exercise shall commence from the date of contract for a maximum period of two (2) months, consecutive.
Individual Consultants are invited to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested Consultants must provide information on their capability and suitability to undertake the assignment.
Consultants interested in undertaking the prescribed Services are to email an Expression of Interest to include:
1. Information on the Consultant’s qualifications to perform the services, experience and competence relevant to the assignment, including a Curriculum Vitae.
2. A concept note on the planned framework for undertaking the assignment and a breakdown of the number of days required for each task as per the Scope of Services in the TOR.
Expressions of Interests submitted should not exceed 20 pages.
The Consultant shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of his/her Expression of Interest.
The OECS is not bound to accept any Expression of Interest, and reserves the right to annul the selection process at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the Consultants.
For more information or to submit Expressions of Interest, please contact:
Jenna Flavien Procurement Officer OECS Commission Morne Fortuné P.O. Box 1383 Castries Saint Lucia Telephone: Email: procurementbids@oecs.int Copied to: kyle.garnes@oecs.int
An Individual Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultant’s Qualifications (CQS-IC) Selection Method as detailed in the procedures set out in the Procurement Manual of the OECS, dated November 2013 revised June 2017.
The criteria to evaluate the Expressions of Interest received in relation to this assignment will include:
The Expressions of Interest will be evaluated and the Individual Consultant with the most relevant experience, qualifications and technical competence will be selected and requested to submit a fee proposal, which will be the basis for negotiations leading to a contract.
It is expected that the services will be conducted for a period of two (2) months, in keeping with the terms outlined in the Reporting Requirements above.
An electronic copy of the Expressions of Interest should be submitted by October 1, 2021, addressed to:
Ms. Jenna Flavien, Procurement Officer
At the following email address:
procurementbids@oecs.int
copied to kyle.garnes@oecs.int
The email submissions should include the name and address of the Individual Consultant and shall be clearly marked in the subject line as “Expression of Interest – “Consultancy Services for Export and Import Requirements Legislation Data Collection (Montserrat)”