Rock Hard loses cement case against Trinidad at CCJ

Last Friday, the Carib-bean Court of Justice (CCJ) in its Original Jurisdiction, dismiss-ed an application by Rock Hard Distribution Limited, to annul the decision of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), which allowed an increase in the tariff on “other hydraulic cement” imported into Trinidad and Tobago.

Finding there to be no justification for the annulment sought by Rock Hard Distributors (the Claimants) in the arguments advanced, the apex court threw out its application.

A release from the Court noted that in 2020, COTED—an organ of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)—granted an application by Trinidad and Tobago to suspend the Common External Tariff (CET) of 5% and substitute a rate of 50% on other hydraulic cement, which the Claimants had been importing.