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Barbados Industry Minister Donville Inniss. * Photo credit: nationnews.com
News that businesses in Barbados exporting to St. Lucia are now faced with a new levy on products shipped to Castries has not gone down well with the Barbados government.
The country’s Industry Minister Donville Inniss, according to a Caribbean Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) report, revealed that “St. Lucia has imposed a 70 percent duty on some Barbadian products entering that country”.
Inniss said he plans to speak to his counterpart in St. Lucia about addressing the matter, CBC further reported.
The Barbadian minister disclosed this information during a St. Peter Democratic Labour Party branch meeting over the weekend.
Inniss said under the treaty of Chaguaramas, St. Lucia is “defined as a lesser developed country than Barbados, allowing Castries to impose the new tax”.
The industry minister is further quoted by CBC as saying that the article which governs trade between CARICOM countries “needs to be reviewed to avoid unfair competition”.
