Recently the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) expressed strong opposition to the notion of a common external tariff (CET) on refined sugar imported into the Caribbean Community. Proponents note that the proposed tariff of 40% will be beneficial to both GuySuCo and Belizean sugar manufacturers. The GMSA’s disagreement appears to be based on arguments straight out of a second-year college course in international trade theory. They also argue that the quality of the locally made refined sugar would not be up to the standard of the imported ones. This is the first time I am ever hearing that the quality of Guyana’s sugar is not good. It must have been good for far-flung producers in south Florida, Mauritius, India and Malawi to use the term Demerara in their branding.
As it relates to the interpretation of static trade theory ideas, GMSA argues that the tariff or tax will increase the cost of production of manufacturers and cause them to lay off workers. This job-loss argument is being made from all quarters, private and political, these days. However, the labour market statistics are still not good enough to capture the different dimensions of unemployment. But I guess using the term jobs make for reliable political rhetoric.
