Last week we told you about the settlement of Belize's lawsuit against Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and CARICOM alleging that the two CARICOM member-states were importing brown sugar from countries outside the Single Market without imposing the 40% Common External Tariff.
Well, Belize settled with Saint Kitts and Nevis - but there is a wider fight with Trinidad and other CARICOM members countries. We asked the Minister of Foreign Trade about it today:
Hon. Eamon Courtenay - Senator "The issue was that St. Kitts was like other Caribbean states importing brown sugar from Guatemala, Colombia, Honduras and importing it in a way where we suspected that the common external tariff of 40% was not being imposed. So we brought a case to the CCJ on that and we have had very constructive and fruitful discussions with St. Kitts government and that matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of Belize and Belize Sugar Industry and Santander - it continues of course against Trinidad and the Caribbean community."
Jules Vasquez "When will the sugar produced in Belize, the refined sugar, when will that be on marketplaces in the Caribbean?"
Hon. Eamon Courtenay "That's a second issue, that is what we call the substitutability issue. That issue is moving definitely in Belize's favour, there is a study that was done that establishes that the plantation white sugar produced by Belize is so near in polarity and quality to what we called refined sugar, that it can be substituted one for the other. That is before CARICOM, CARICOM agricultural ministers have looked, the economic council has looked at it and so we are hoping that through negotiations, discussions, we will be able to have member states accept Belize's plantation white as well as Guyana's plantation white and this will not be another case before the CCJ."
