Govt pushes
for local investment in BpTT, BGTT
The Trinidad Guardian
Petroleumworldtt.com
04 06 08
The
American Chamber of T&T (AmCham) is calling
on Government to take the lead in lobbying for
the passage of a bill in the US Congress seeking
to extend the life of two important programmes
which allow duty-free access to the US market for
products from Caribbean Community (Caricom) and
other developing countries.
The two programmes are set to expire this year
unless extended.
One is the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) which
was established in 1983 to promote economic growth
and development by stimulating investment in export
industries.
The CBI allows preferential access on a unilateral
basis to the US market. CBI is the collective term
given to the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery
Act (CBERA) and the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership
Act (CBTPA).
According
to AmCham, these acts allow duty-free access
to a number of manufactured goods, including
T&T’s fastest growing exports—fuel
ethanol, methanol and petroleum products.
In
fact, AmCham said in a statement that it is critical
that T&T leads out in the campaign
for the extension of the programmes, adding that
T&T is the largest user of CBI within Caricom.
It said CBERA and CBTPA require a waiver approved
by all other World Trade Organisation (WTO) members
to operate legally under WTO rules.
The
waiver on CBERA expired on December 31, 2005.
AmCham said a renewal was sought, but Bangladesh,
Brazil, China, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka initially
objected—Paraguay is the only remaining objector.
The CBEBRA (including CBTPA) will expire on September
30, 2008, unless the US Congress passes new legislation
to replace it, AmCham said.
AmCham said a bill has been introduced by House
Ways and Means Committee chairman Charles B Rangel,
to extend certain trade preference programs including
CBTPA. The bill proposes to extend CBI, GSP and
the Andean Trade Preference Act to September 30th
2010.
The
statement said, “It is important therefore
that as a region we begin lobbying through the
various channels open to us. It is at this stage
that we can make an impact on the programme. We
have the opportunity now to work towards shaping
a bill that will benefit Caricom/Caribbean nations-
as most of the other recipients of the CBI are
moving towards a free trade agreement with the
US—namely Panama. We must work together to
expand the program to allow for services- financial
and professional; expand the list of products eligible
for duty-free access and make the preference program
for Haiti permanent.”
AmCham
said it was willing to spearhead the effort to
ensure the timely passage of the bill. “We
look forward to the collaboration of all stakeholders
and would welcome everyone’s input in this
regard,” the statement said.
AmCham said as part of its campaign it will send
letters to members of the US Congress from companies
and business organisations benefiting from CBTPA.
All corporations who are beneficiaries of the CBTPA
are urged to contact AmCham so that their views
could be fully represented.
“We must all work together and do our part
in lobbying our Government and Caricom to get this
bill passed. CBTPA must be extended so that we
can continue to diversify our economies and our
manufacturers and the US can benefit from a predictable
market,” AmCham said.
Story from The Trinidad Guardian
The
Trinidad Guardian
Wednesday 2nd April, 2008
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