00:00Economist Professor Roger Hosein tells the TV6 Morning Edition that while the projections
00:06present encouraging signs, the country must remain prudently hopeful and avoid over-reliance
00:13on short-term gains from the energy sector.
00:16He says the focus should remain on rebuilding the nation's financial strength and improving
00:22fiscal resilience.
00:23We should be optimistically but cautiously happy.
00:29We should take the money and use it intelligently or put it in the HSF destabilization fund where
00:37we could because ultimately that is what is helping to bail out the government now anyway.
00:42Professor Hosein also underscores the importance of strengthening the non-energy sector, particularly
00:49expanding non-energy exports.
00:51According to him, a more determined approach is needed to encourage citizens to support
00:57locally produced goods and services.
01:00I haven't really seen much, okay we are going to do a buy local campaign and we are asking
01:08massive stores and the other big supermarkets like JTA and Extra Foods to work with our local
01:15farmers and sell more local products.
01:20And a campaign, you know like how we had keep Charlie away many years ago, a campaign in
01:26the primary schools for the children to go home and pull their mommy clothes and say, mommy,
01:31mommy, no, buy local, buy local.
01:33I'm not seeing that drive.
01:35The economist adds that Trinidad and Tobago should intensify its export push within the
01:42Caricom market, noting that the region continues to show growth and presents valuable opportunities
01:48for local producers.
01:50He also describes the country's engagement with the Mercosur trade arrangements as a positive
01:56step toward expanding trade partnerships.
01:59Treat Caricom with great respect as your family.
02:07So you have a safe, controlled market there.
02:12Secondly, I have no objection to joining Mercosur.
02:15It's a massive market and it should be, it would have more competition.
02:22I mean, when you go to play with big players like Mercosur, you will get more competition,
02:27a lot of their goods will enter our market.
02:29As of March 2026, Trinidad and Tobago is actively moving to join the Mercosur trade bloc, aiming
02:37to boost trade with South American nations like Brazil and Argentina.
02:42The initiative seeks to expand export markets for local products, although some local manufacturers
02:48have raised concerns regarding the potential impact on the local industry.
02:54Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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