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  • 6 weeks ago
Economist and statistician -Dr. Vanus James says Trinidad and Tobago's OFAC licence does not mean the Dragon Gas is a done deal.

And, he warns that moving forward will require careful diplomacy.. and strategic patience to ensure the project succeeds.

More from Nicole M Romany.
Transcript
00:00According to Dr. Varnus James, the Dragon gas deal is hanging by a thin thread.
00:07The Economist warns that the level of contention between the U.S., Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela
00:14could make the situation particularly delicate.
00:18I mean, the U.S. government, in some collaboration with the government of Trinidad and Tobago,
00:26is hostile to the government of Venezuela.
00:31So how do you carry on with that deal unless you make peace with them as it will?
00:36I guess Mr. Trump wants to win a Nobel Prize.
00:40In the interest of Trinidad and Tobago, he should make peace with Venezuela.
00:44Reports suggest the Venezuelan president has taken a wait-and-see approach,
00:48citing what he views as disrespectful actions from both TNT and the United States.
00:56Dr. James tells the Morning Edition that the U.S. cannot approach the situation solely as a superpower,
01:03adding that a degree of calm is needed to move forward.
01:07The U.S. lives in our backyard and it needs to behave itself properly as a leader,
01:13not as a dominant, mighty power that can shoot up when it wants.
01:19That will not work generally anywhere in the world and it won't work here either, I think.
01:24So you won't get Venezuela to say, okay, plan to shoot me up but come over and mine my gas.
01:30I don't think that's how it would work.
01:32Even if the government thinks so, I doubt it's wise to think so.
01:36As the population looks toward Monday's national budget,
01:40Dr. James stresses the importance of strong policy implementation,
01:45noting that true economic diversity depends on strategic policy frameworks.
01:51While some worry that the government may need to borrow, he says,
01:55this approach is far better than the alternative.
01:59He says the government must deal with crime and education while ensuring their infrastructure is maintained.
02:06So the recurrent obligations are there and in many ways you can't escape them immediately.
02:13So you borrow, and I would say to borrow instead of leaning on an exchange rate depreciation
02:23because that will drive up costs and destroy all our remaining possibilities.
02:29So I would hold that in the normal managed float that is being run now,
02:34and I would borrow and spend the money wisely.
02:38Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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