Trinidad and tobago Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in trinidad and tobago, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling to the Public Sector
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Selling to the Government

Opportunities to sell to the government exist in digital transformation, healthcare, construction, and public utilities.  The GoTT tends to engage foreign suppliers in these areas more willingly when bids come with financing proposals.  Competitiveness factors like price, value, training, and post-sale service are important elements of any bid.  Agencies publish tender announcements in the three daily newspapers and also on the government website under “Active Tender Notices Online.”  There are approximately 100 government ministries and state companies with the authority to purchase goods and services.  The GoTT established a new procurement regime in 2023 that is still in early phases of implementation. For more information on how your company may become registered, please review the following website: https://oprtt.org/.

TT is not a party to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.  Some U.S. firms have identified a lack of transparency as an obstacle to foreign direct investment, specifically in public procurement.  TT’s public procurement processes have historically suffered from the widespread perception of corruption and opacity.  The newly implemented procurement process aims to address these issues but excludes multiple sectors such as national security, and government-to-government transactions.  The new procurement process has already been amended to reduce oversight and accountability.  Since the process’ full implementation in April 2023, government procurement staff and vendors alike have struggled with the new process creating delays and greater uncertainty in selling to the government.

U.S. companies bidding on foreign government tenders may also qualify for U.S. Government advocacy. Within the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. Government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters in competition with foreign firms in foreign government projects or procurement opportunities. The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts. Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. Government agency officials expressing support for the U.S. exporters directly to the foreign government. Consult the Advocacy Center’s program web page on trade.gov for additional information.       

Financing of Projects

Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales. Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract. Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB). The Guide to Doing Business with Multilateral Development Banks overviews how to work with MDBs. The International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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