WHO WE ARE

As one of the frontline Ministries within the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is leading the drive to position Trinidad and Tobago as a manufacturing base, and the business, trade, and financial hub of the Americas.

The Ministry’s core responsibility is to grow trade, business and investment, particularly through driving the non-energy sectors of the economy. As the pivotal agency for trade promotion and development, MTI manages and coordinates the trade process to ensure access to international markets for companies located here.

This is closely tied to another critical mandate — the aggressive development of business and industry. In this regard, MTI is formulating more appropriate industrial and services

policies, designed to enhance the capability of the local industrial sector to compete in the global marketplace.

Much of MTI’s activities are geared towards creating a facilitatory and supportive environment for business, especially through developing the most appropriate legislative framework to support business and investment activities. MTI is also responsible for stimulating domestic and foreign investment and is working to upgrade the entire framework for attracting investment — the lifeblood of industrial activity.

MTI conducts its affairs and provides required services with the highest regard and esteem for all clients and customers. The Ministry’s stakeholders are located within Trinidad & Tobago, as well as regionally and internationally, and are drawn from government circles, the private sector, and civil society.

THE MINISTER

Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry on September 11th, 2015 and re-appointed on August 19, 2020.

She has been a Member of Parliament since 2007 and previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In her second term as Minister of Trade and Industry, she aims to continue building upon and expanding programmes initiated in the last five years in an effort to improve the export capacity of the local manufacturing sector and position Trinidad and Tobago as the business and trade hub of the Caribbean. She will also continue to lead the charge towards stimulating domestic and foreign investments while implementing policies to enhance the global competitiveness of Trinidad and Tobago. She believes in continuous stakeholder engagement to ensure participation in the growth and development of all sectors for a sustainable and vibrant economy.

Her personal interests extend to the deepening of Caribbean integration and she believes in and is committed to equal opportunities for personal growth, self-expression and participation in the development process of Trinidad and Tobago, for all citizens.

MINISTERIAL EXECUTIVES

PERMANENT SECRETARY (Ag.)

Mr. Randall Karim

Mr. Karim has over twenty years senior technical and executive management experience in the public sector. He has served in the Ministry of Trade and Industry in several capacities including Trade Specialist; Director, Strategy, Business Facilitation and Programme Management; Chief Technical and Operations Advisor; Deputy Permanent Secretary and was appointed Permanent Secretary (Ag) in August 2023.

He holds a Double Major Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics and Management; a Master of Science Degree in Economics; Master of Business Administration (with distinction) from the University of the West Indies. He also holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of London and Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (with distinction) from De Montfort University, Leicester in the UK. Mr. Karim is certified Project Management Professional (P.M.P.).

Mr. Karim was called to the Bar as an Attorney-at-Law in January 2022 and has served on several Cabinet appointed Committees and on the Board of Directors of State Agencies tasked with implementing trade and investment-related policies for Trinidad and Tobago.

DEPUTY PERMANENT SECRETARY (Ag.)

Mrs. Ava Mahabir-Dass

Ms Mahabir-Dass has extensive experience and training in both Trade and Industry and Statistics. In her previous assignment at the MTI, she gained a wealth of experience and training in WTO negotiating areas such as Trade Remedies, Competition Policy, Trade in Services, Agriculture, Non-Agriculture Market Access, Trade and Investment and Trade Negotiations.

During her tenure at the Central Statistical Office (CSO), Ms Mahabir-Dass was responsible for the compilation of the Annual and Quarterly GDP, Inflation Rates, Merchandise Trade and Tourism statistics over the past ten years. For the past two years, Ms Mahabir-Dass has been a senior member of the e-GDDS Implementation Team at CSO which has enabled Trinidad and Tobago to meet the IMF Data Dissemination Standards, positively impacting the country’s credit ratings and ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

HEADS OF DIRECTORATES

DIRECTOR, TRADE FACILITATION (Ag)

Mrs. Susan Singh-Seerattan

Mrs. Susan Singh-Seerattan oversees the Trade Directorate which is one of four technical directorates in the MTI. The Trade Directorate is responsible for the representation and implementation of international trade policies, measures and interactions with foreign organizations. It also supports the growth and development of export-led trade, particularly in the non-energy sector.

Mrs. Singh-Seerattan has been employed with the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) for over twenty-nine (29) years, and has a wealth of knowledge and experience in trade and business development matters, having held the following positions at the Ministry: Economist I, Economist II, Senior Economist, Manager Alliances, and Director Business Development. Her educational background and qualifications include a BSc. in Economics and a Post Graduate Diploma and MSc. in International Relations from the UWI, St. Augustine campus. Mrs. Seerattan also possesses various certifications from the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Commonwealth Secretariat, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in areas such as; trade in goods, trade in services, trade negotiations, trade promotion, regional trade agreements and trade facilitation.

DIRECTOR, POLICY AND STRATEGY

Mrs. Candice Lackhansingh

CHIEF TRADE OFFICER (Ag.), TRADE LICENCE UNIT

Mrs. Sandra Peter-Sarabjit

Ms. Sandra Peter-Sarabjit is the Acting Chief Trade Officer of the Trade Licence Unit (TLU) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Ms. Peter- Sarabjit assumed duties at the TLU in 2019, having served previously as a Senior Project Analyst with responsibility for the Ministry’s Development Programme.

In her current position as Chief Trade Officer, Ms. Peter- Sarabjit leads a team which has responsibility for the administration of government policies which includes but are not limited to:

processing of applications for import and export licences;
processing of applications for the Suspension of the Common External Tariff under Article 83 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas; and for the Invoking of the Safeguard Mechanism under Paragraph 7 of Article 84 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas
regulation of the Imported Used Car Industry in Trinidad and Tobago; the importation of Cement into Trinidad and Tobago; and the Scrap Metal Industry
examination of Goods Declaration for all imported items listed on the Import Negative Lists

Ms. Peter- Sarabjit is the holder of a BSc (Hons) in Economics and a Masters Degree (Distinction) in Business Administration from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. Ms. Peter- Sarabjit has an extensive career of over 25 years in the Public Service and her field of expertise and training are in statistics, project management and operations management.

DIRECTOR, INDUSTRY

Mr. Nyron Mohammed

Mr. Mohammed is currently the Director of Industry at the Ministry of Trade and Industry within the Business Development Directorate. He holds a B.Sc. in Economics and Management Studies and a M.Sc. in Economics from the University of the West Indies with First Class Honours. Mr. Mohammed possesses almost 2 decades of experience at the Ministry in areas of policy, research and planning. He is presently involved in developing and implementing a series of targeted programmes related to business growth and development to facilitate the transformation of the non-energy sector and the diversification of the economy.