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2. Lessons for Generating Government Revenue for New and Prospective Liquefied Natural Gas Producers
- Author:
- Thomas Lassourd, Amir Shafaie, and Thomas Scurfield
- Publication Date:
- 12-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Natural Resource Governance Institute
- Abstract:
- The market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is changing fast, with increasing demand, new sources of supply, and a growing spot market. Over the last decade (2008 to 2018), LNG prices in the three main markets of North America, Western Europe and East Asia have diverged significantly at times, creating arbitrage opportunities for sellers. This briefing presents two case studies of developing countries that have faced challenges in securing public revenue from their natural gas industries. Trinidad and Tobago and Peru offer two examples of developing countries that faced challenges in maximizing government revenue from LNG sales during that time. Although LNG markets are evolving, these examples offer lessons for new and prospective LNG producers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. A key area (and the focus of this briefing) is the valuation of LNG sales and the corresponding impact on government revenues. Governments should pay close attention to LNG project structure and the long-term LNG sale and purchase agreements between LNG producers and offtakers, especially when they are related companies. Governments should push for these agreements to maximize the price flowing back to the LNG plant and the upstream producer and should favor project structures that facilitate this. In particular, the practice of diverting LNG cargos to more lucrative export markets than the ones initially designated in offtake agreements should be regulated and monitored by governments to balance the financial incentives to LNG sellers with the interests of LNG-exporting countries. This will become increasingly important as the market becomes more liquid and sellers have more options.
- Topic:
- Government, Gas, Tax Systems, Commodities, and Revenue Management
- Political Geography:
- South America, Caribbean, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago
3. Women's Rights U.S. Foreign Policy
- Author:
- Melanne Verveer
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- When I attended the first Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994, only two female heads of state represented their countries: Dominica and Nicaragua. This past April at the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, five of the presidents and prime ministers representing the 33 participating countries were women: from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Their presence was an important example of the progress the hemisphere—and its women—have made. In fact, the region continues to make progress in a variety of areas. Latin America and the Caribbean are tackling ongoing challenges head-on, including promoting girls' education, improving women's and girls' health, facilitating women's political participation, and expanding women's economic opportunities. Governments throughout the hemisphere are increasingly recognizing that no country can get ahead if it leaves half of its people behind.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- America, Brazil, and Caribbean
4. Court reform in Mexico — Central America's border squabbles — the Pacific Alliance
- Author:
- Jose Antonio Caballero
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- Judiciary: The Courts in Mexico BY JOSÉ ANTONIO CABALLERO The steady process of change in judicial organizations in Mexico, which began in the mid-1990s, was given a major boost in the past few years with four constitutional amendments. The most significant is a 2008 amendment requiring that all state and federal judicial systems transition from a written-based inquisitorial system to an oral-based accusatorial one by 2016. This will bring greater transparency while better protecting the rights of the accused and allowing for the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Halfway into the transition phase, though, the processes' slow implementation poses a risk that states won't meet the 2016 deadline.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, Central America, Caribbean, and Mexico
5. Cuba's bid for foreign investment — The Pacto por México — The Canada-EU Trade Agreement.
- Author:
- Duncan Wood, Marc Frank, and John Parisella
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- Cuba: Port Upgrades and Free-Trade Zones BY MARC FRANK When Latin American and Caribbean heads of state gather in Cuba in January 2014 for the Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States— CELAC) summit, the agenda will include a side trip to Mariel Bay. There, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Cuban President Raúl Castro will cut the ribbon on a brand new container terminal that Cuba hopes will replace Havana as the country's principal port. Brazil financed more than two-thirds of the $900 million project, built in partnership with Brazilian construction company Odebrecht over six years—providing $670 million in loans for terminal construction and infrastructure development such as rail and road. The facility, with an initial capacity of 850,000 to 1 million containers, will be operated by Singaporean port operator PSA International. The Mariel Bay facility, located 28 miles (45 kilometers) west of the capital on the northern coast, was built to attract traffic from the larger container ships expected to traverse the Panama Canal in 2015. It could also serve as a major transfer point for cargo heading to other destinations. But the competition is already fierce. The Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Panama are all rushing to improve their port facilities.
- Topic:
- Development and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Canada, Cuba, Latin America, and Caribbean
6. Is Tourism Haiti’s Magic Bullet? An Empirical Treatment of Haiti’s Tourism Potential
- Author:
- Athena R. Kolbe, Keely Brookes, and Robert Muggah
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- Tourism is often described as key to Haiti’s salvation. The economic potential of foreigners visiting the island nation is cited in virtually all major assessments of the country’s current development problems. This may seem at first counterintuitive: the impoverished and disaster-stricken country has long-struggled with violence and political instability. But it is increasingly regarded as necessary. Immediately after the January 2010 earthquake it was recognized that strategic investments would be needed to secure Haiti’s economy once foreign aid had diminished. Tourism was recently elevated to a top priority by Haiti’s current administration and the Ministry of Tourism. The government hopes that an influx of foreign currency generated by tourist dollars could help lift the country out of aid-dependency. This is not as surprising as it may seem. Haiti used to be a Caribbean destination – Graham Green described it as a tropical idyll in the mid-twentieth century during the early years of the Duvalier regime. What is more, former U.S. president Bill Clinton publically reminisces of his honeymoon in Haiti and until the 1990s Club Med ran a resort just an hour outside of Port-au-Prince. Yet the prospects for tourism are still highly uncertain. After coups in 1991 and 2004, recreational tourism has all but vanished. Since the devastating 2010 earthquake, one is more likely to see missionaries and aid workers in Haiti than vacationers. This Strategic Note assesses the extent to which Haiti is safe for tourism and explores how tourists and those in the industry view their role in Haiti’s development efforts to increase tourism. It draws, as in past Igarapé Institute publications, on both quantitative surveys and qualitative research. Informed by this empirical evidence, the study sets out a number of recommendations to improve the tourism industry within the country. This Strategic Note considers the perceptions of tourists visiting Haiti in 2013 and their motives and perceptions of the country. A total of 2,231 tourists were surveyed with a response rate of almost 75 per cent. An additional 390 tourism professionals were also consulted and interviewed.
- Topic:
- Government, Natural Disasters, Tourism, and Economy
- Political Geography:
- Caribbean and Haiti
7. Planting Now (2nd Edition): Revitalizing agriculture for reconstruction and development in Haiti
- Author:
- Tonny Joseph
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- The devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 exacerbated the country's grinding poverty and serious development problems, while at the same time worsening Haitian living conditions. The tremor killed over 250,000 people and injured 300, 000. It crippled the economy, causing losses estimated at almost 120 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Nevertheless, economic growth is expected to rise between 7 and 9 percent in 2012, largely owing to reconstruction efforts. The population in internally displaced persons camps has decreased from 1.5 million to around 390,000 (according to the June 2012 report of the International Organization for Migration), and the country's hurricane preparedness capacity has increased.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Gender Issues, Government, Food, and Fragile/Failed State
- Political Geography:
- Caribbean and Haiti
8. The Hemisphere's Spaghetti Bowl of Free-Trade Agreements
- Author:
- José Raúl Perales
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- The hemisphere's free-trade agreements-and how to untangle them.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Canada, Latin America, Caribbean, and Mexico
9. Much in Common
- Author:
- Zhang Mingde
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- A senior Shanghai scholar says China poses no threat to the region.
- Topic:
- Development and Government
- Political Geography:
- China, Latin America, and Caribbean
10. Charticle: The Bolivarian Alternative
- Author:
- Joel Hirst
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- What is ALBA and what does it do? A guide to President Chávez and Fidel Castro's regional project.
- Topic:
- Security and Government
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, Caribbean, Venezuela, and Ecuador
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