The Stabroek Business has seen a media release issued by the Guyanese-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) urging governments and private sector groupings in the region to take immediate action to help influence United States congressional approval of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) “for at least another ten years” once it expires on September 30th, 2020.
Extension of the Act, which has been in place since 2000 will reauthorize the extension of the US Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) which provides for the duty-free and quota–free importation of goods from the region into the United States. The facility is intended to offset the long-standing and continually growing imbalance in US/Caribbean trade.
The statement notes that an examination of the benefits that have been gained by Caribbean territories under the Act would show that there have not been significant acrruals to Guyana and urges enhanced efforts on the part of the business communities in the US and Guyana to seek increased benefits from the Act.
