The second workshop on “My first steps in importing: from ordering goods to delivering them” was held on February 1, 2022. It was organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the islands of Guadeloupe (CCIG), project leader of the OHADAC project.

Building on the success of the initial event, the CARO Centre was invited to present the legal component of the workshop. The presentation was made jointly by Marie-Camille Pitton, Secretary-General of the CARO Centre, and Solène Balaguette, a legal expert at the Centre.

The aim was to provide business owners from Guadeloupe with as much information as possible, as well as solutions. The event was an opportunity to present the legal, economic, regulatory, customs, fiscal and banking tools for importing into Guadeloupe, and to develop its international trade relations.

The event brought together a panel of diverse speakers, and the various presentations were followed by a Q&A session with the business owners, project leaders and students attending.

A joint case study was conducted to make practical links between all the different themes that were presented at the workshop.

Mr Robert Procida, director of business support at the CCIIG, presented the event's introductory remarks, while Mrs Raïssa Goubin Kern, international advisor at Guadeloupe's Team France Export / International Platform, oversaw the contributions made by the panel of experts as moderator.

The speakers and topics covered were as follows:

• Elcia Gabali, consultant at GLC INTERNATIONAL, spoke about the basics of importing and presented the transport and logistics aspect.
• Danielle Albina-Maquiaba, Director of the CCIIG's Economic Information and Documentation Centre (CIDE), presented the commercial aspect (sourcing, looking for partners, documentary research, etc.).
• Olivier Magniez, director of BNP Paribas' Antilles-Guyane Corporate Business Centre, and Jean-Paul Lerigab, international trade manager at BNP Paribas Antilles-Guyane, delivered the presentation on the banking component and promoted the offers and instruments available to business owners.
• Matthieu Toret, a lawyer specialising in customs law and energy taxation from ENERLEX AVOCAT, presented the customs and taxation section.
• Patrick Foulon, acting director of the Business Advice Unit - Economic Action Hub - Directorate General of Customs and Excise of Guadeloupe, was responsible for talking about the customs aspect.
• Marie-Camille Pitton, Secretary general of the CARO Centre, and Solène Balaguette, lawyer, Counsel at the CARO Centre, jointly presented the legal aspect.

The presentation:

• provided answers to the legal problems encountered in importing at international level, as well as explaining how to secure international contracts (inserting a retention of title clause, the choice of applicable legal clause, etc.).
• highlighted the services offered by the CARO Centre for preventing (facilitation) and handling legal disputes (mediation and arbitration).

The afternoon was earmarked for business owners and project holders, who enjoyed one-on-one B2B meetings with the speakers. These meetings enabled business owners, project holders and students to target their exact needs and obtain more information about the services offered by the CARO Centre.

For more information, you are invited to contact us on the following address: secretariat@carohadac.org.