“Soon reach” – that priceless Creole phrase captures a good deal of the public sentiment about the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. And while there may be public apprehension about Cari-come and Cari-gone, plans for full implementation continue. Today, CSME experts were in Belize to discuss competition policy. It’s an important area because under the CSME, Caribbean companies can come in and compete with Belize business houses on the same level playing field. That should mean everyone from Digicel in Jamaica to Busta soft drinks in Trinidad. Well, maybe not Busta...we found out more.
Elma Jean Isaac, CARICOM
“If it is an open market and you have a dominant player, that is one big player in the market, that is preventing other enterprises from coming in by all kinds of manipulations and machinations then you want your competition rules to prohibit that kind of behaviour so that you won’t have a company that is restricting entry or squeezing out other people. They can use their pricing arrangements for example, setting prices way below cost, predatory pricing so that they prevent other competitors from coming into the market. Those are the kinds of things that enterprises do and the competition rules target. The aim is not to prevent support, I don’t like the word protectionism, you can still support your vulnerable enterprises. As a matter of fact the revised treaty has a whole chapter relating to support for disadvantaged countries, regions, and sectors. There are cases in which countries decide that they want to retain monopolies or they want to establish monopolies because that is in their best interest and the treaty does allow a member state to have a monopoly but you have to still abide by the competition rules so you can’t abuse your dominant position.”
Richard Reid, BELTRAIDE
“We need to develop a culture of competition and we need to ensure that people see this within the context of the CSME.”
Jules Vasquez,
We had soft drinks coming in from Trinidad, Bigga and Busta, but those have been effectively banned by I guess the Ministry of Trade, no permits are issued for their importations. Is this an unfair practice against CSME standing operating procedure?
Elma Jean Isaac,
“I don’t pronounce on that one, no. If you take that kind of situation then you put it before your national commission and they will pronounce on it.”
Jules Vasquez,
But in the rawest of terms or the most basic analysis, Bigga and Busta soft drinks, being marketed and bottled in the CSME should allow free access into CSME countries.
Elma Jean Isaac,
“That is the idea, that enterprises. We have within the free movement provisions of the treaty the right of establishment so that a company from Belize can move to Barbados and set up an enterprise and it should not be fettered in that respect. So yes it should be able to enter and it should be able to compete fairly in accordance with your competition rules. Once you get them in place, then you will be able to govern how these enterprises operate in your market.”
Richard Reid,
“There is a special provision that allows the less developed countries to restrict certain products from the more developed countries. It just so happens that beer and the beverages are already approved so Belize does have the right to restrict from CARICOM.”
Jules Vasquez,
Is there anyway that what we are talking about here, competition can force down the cost of living, the price of goods?
Elma Jean Isaac,
“Well I don’t know if it will happen automatically but yes competition and ensuring fair competition among enterprises, one of the ways of ensuring that you have price competition.”
Richard Reid,
“One of the main elements of this CSME competition law will be to protect the consumers’’ interest and their rights and that translates into all issues of pricing and standards and things like that. So there is an agenda ahead, we just need to work it out.”
Jules Vasquez,
But we don’t even have a consumer protection agency. Our Bureau of Standard is staffed by two people. In terms of it can exist on paper but in practical terms, there is no real government will to institute an advocacy office for consumers; that has been lacking.
Richard Reid,
“Jules that just shows you how much things we need to work out. This is not something that somebody will send to us in a container. We need to put these things in place.”
The experts were here to speak to business-people in every sector.
