Guyana may once again move in the direction of suspending the Common External Tariff (CET) on cement imported from countries outside Caricom owing to its current high price, which government feels is being “orchestrated” by “shark operators” out to “make a killing”.
Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon yesterday told reporters that once the government has established beyond reasonable doubt, for the purposes of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) that there are shortages and it is a reflection of insufficient production, it will move ahead to allow extra-regional importation of cement.
Should the government move in that direction it would not be its first attempt to wriggle out of the agreement it has with Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL), the parent company of TCL Guyana Inc (TGI), as the sole provider of cement to Guyana and other Caribbean countries. In 2009, the government had suspended the CET but this was challenged by TCL in the
