HGP Nightly News – Higher regional tariffs on sugar, glass bottles and paint could leave Guyanese consumers paying more for goods that CARICOM manufacturers may not yet be able to supply in sufficient quantities or at the required quality, private-sector organisations have warned.
The Private Sector Commission and Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association raised the concerns during talks with Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd and senior trade officials.
The discussions centred on how proposed or existing duties on products imported from outside CARICOM could affect local prices, supply chains and competition.
Regional tariffs are generally intended to protect and encourage CARICOM production by making competing imports more expensive. However, the private sector argued that duties should not be imposed where regional manufacturers cannot reliably satisfy Guyana’s needs.
The PSC and GMSA called for Guyana to retain its extra-regional tariff waiver on refined white sugar until CARICOM suppliers can provide the quality and quantities required by local businesses.
Removing that waiver would make sugar imported from outside the region more expensive and could increase costs for food manufacturers and other commercial users.
The organisations also raised concerns about a proposed 15 per cent tariff on glass bottles.
They cited challenges involving regional production capacity, product quality and delivery schedules, warning that an additional duty could increase packaging expenses where manufacturers cannot source suitable bottles within CARICOM.
Those costs could eventually be passed on to consumers through higher prices for bottled beverages and other packaged products.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry supported calls for a fresh independent assessment of the region’s glass-bottle production capacity before a final tariff position is adopted.
The talks also examined CARICOM’s suspension of a proposed 35 per cent tariff on paints and varnishes imported from outside the region.
Guyana had raised concerns that such a steep duty could restrict supplies and drive up prices for households, contractors and the construction industry.
The suspension prevents the tariff from taking effect for now, but does not necessarily settle the matter permanently.
The debate requires governments to balance support for regional manufacturers against the risk of reducing competition and increasing costs where CARICOM suppliers cannot meet demand.
The ministry, PSC and GMSA agreed to conduct more frequent consultations as Guyana prepares its positions on future regional trade measures.
No timetable was announced for the independent production assessment or final decisions on the sugar and glass-bottle measures.
