COTED to hear Barbados, St Lucia trade dispute

(Barbados Nation) BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: International Business Minister, Donville Inniss, says Barbados will use the May 6 to 10 Council of Trade and Economic Development (COTED) to resolve a possible trade dispute with St. Lucia.

St. Lucia has announced the imposition of a 70 per cent tax on Barbadian goods effective May 1.

Castries, has, in the past, pointed to a 2012 COTED decision which allows for CARICOM‘s lesser developed countries to implement the duty on products from the region’s more developed countries.

Barbados has not issued an official complaint on the matter but the International Business Minister maintains that his government will not allow the situation to escalate into a trade war.