Dear Editor
Despite over 15 annual meetings of the Council on Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and numerous public declarations by our Caribbean leaders about lifting intra-regional trade barriers, 2023 still finds us with the challenge of being unable to ship honey from Guyana via our beloved CARICOM sister the Republic of Trinidad of Tobago. This is nothing short of a regional disgrace. I heard the Prime Minister Keith Rowley personally commit to resolving this issue on at least three separate occasions. After the pronouncements, as per usual, silence.
I am not going to extol the virtues of honey or its potential to become a significant export product. That is too much typing and I don’t have the patience at the moment. My principled view however is that notwithstanding all of honey’s good virtues, the position of Trinidad & Tobago is a clear violation of the fair trading principles of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. Added to this, the deafening silence that can be, or maybe should be, viewed as an insult. I also have to wonder whether our relevant agencies are taking an activist role in trying to resolve this matter. Our Trinidadian brethren come into Guyana, set up and happily conduct business with very minimal conditions. I believe some entities have been here since the 1970s if not before. We however have to put up with this continued obdurate stance by Trinidad and Tobago.
I have always been told that the Caribbean Court of Justice was created, among many things, to resolve trade issues. Guyana and other CARICOM countries have refrained from doing so in this instance, preferring to negotiate via the COTED mechanism. Note as well that I am not asking to access the market. We will pursue that issue at another time. The ask is for in-transit facilities. Nothing else. Can you however imagine the wailing, gnashing of teeth not to mention the fire and brimstone if we applied similar policies? Nobody else ent shy when dey vex. We have already seen the Caribbean Private Sector Organization (CPSO) raise in no uncertain terms their concerns about our local content provisions. Ah suppose dat different nuh? This has gone on long enough. Decisive action is needed.
Sincerely,
Lance Hinds
House Of Honey
