(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – Surinamese producers are being hit by hidden measures by Caricom countries to limit imports. Several of these countries have special bodies that help their own business community export, and offer protection against foreign competition as well, says the Association of Surinamese Manufacturers (ASFA). ASFA delegations visited Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad earlier this year to find out how the governments there support the business community.
These three countries each also have special organizations that support the business community through tax measures or special privileges in ports. They help export companies with administration and financing. “Most Caricom countries have secret subsidies that are being hidden by such organizations,” says ASFA chairman Rahid Doekhie. “They have built a lead this way.” Doekhie provides the example of a Caricom rule that states import levies must be paid for raw materials imported from outside the block. A few Caricom countries bypass this rule by paying back the levies to importing companies afterwards. Another example is Guyana which levied a tax on plastic packaging for years which only applied to foreign products.
Suriname does not have such policies and Doekhie wants to keep it that way. He sees the benefits of the export bureaus in the Caribbean, calling them professional organizations that are run as businesses without any government involvement, and little or no red tape. Yet Suriname does not need a separate organization, he thinks. ASFA sees more benefits in structural consultations between business and government. “Then it can be decided whether a commission should be appointed to tackle specific problems.” For three months now, ASFA has been holding ‘regular talks’ with Vice President Robert Ameerali. Doekhie says the incumbent administration has adopted many of his recommendations, yet he is not satisfied with the pace of reforms. As an example, he mentions the Investment Act ASFA drafted some years ago, but which has not been submitted to Parliament yet.
