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Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 17, 2013
Talks fail to resolve issue on fuel subsidy KINGTSOWN, St. Vincent - Recent talks have again failed to resolve the issue of the fuel subsidy Caribbean Airlines (CAL) receives from the government of Trinidad and Tobago, which LIAT argues is illegal. Further, Kingston has complained that a subsidy Port-of-Spain gives to Trinidadian manufacturers puts their Jamaican counterparts at a disadvantage. Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, chair of LIAT’s shareholder governments, told reporters in Kingstown last week that he is bent on resolving the subsidy issue as it relates to LIAT. But he said that during the recent talks in Trinidad, neither LIAT nor CAL budged from their respective positions. “I am of this view that this matter is going to be resolved only through arbitration and or the Caribbean Court of Justice. I don’t think that Trinidad and Tobago would want to settle this matter,” he
told a press conference in Kingstown. He said that during the talks, the position of the different persons who spoke for Trinidad and Tobago was “to admit that they do a subsidy then to deny that they give a subsidy, then that if they give a subsidy, it doesn’t mean that it impacted negatively on LIAT. “And I simply ploughed along with the facts on my side and the law on my side,” said Gonsalves, a lawyer. “We didn’t yield, and, except for their equivocation as to whether they had a subsidy or not, they didn’t yield,” Gonsalves further said. He said the meeting should have been a private one. “I am still hoping that there would be a private meeting. But I put all the matters transparently to the public because this is not a friend-friend business. This is a serious matter concerning the people. “I don’t see how I can be asked to pay in LIAT $130,
$140, $150 U.S. a barrel for fuel and CAL pays between $50 and $60 and you coming on the same routes with me. That’s unacceptable, it’s wrong, it’s unlawful. And I have the facts and I have the law on my side with this one,” he said. “If we can’t settle it amicably, we will have to take the option of going to arbitration in one direction or under the CCJ in another.” Gonsalves said Trinidad and Tobago said they might remove the subsidy all together. But he said that while that is fine with him, even if the subsidy is removed, LIAT still would have suffered loss and damage and can claim it. “But if we are to get that subsidy or something close to what CAL gets, we can drop the fare in LIAT. That’s the reality,” he said. He further said there might be a lot of reasons why CAL loses a lot of money. “And it would lose more money if it didn’t have the subsidy. So, on this matter, I
Former Barbados Prime Minister says Bahamas cannot remain out of WTO NASSAU, Bahamas – CMC - Former Barbados prime minister Owen Arthur says it is inconceivable that the Bahamas could continue to remain as the only country in the Western Hemisphere, which is not a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In an address to the Grand Bahamas Chamber of Commerce on the Value Added Tax (VAT) and its impact on the Bahamas, Arthur, said that for a country whose economic activities and performance are influenced, to an extraordinary degree, by its participation in the global economic arena, “it is inconceivable that the Bahamas will be able to
indefinitely maintain this “odd man out” status where relating to a rules-based international economy is concerned”. He told the business leaders that the relevant issue therefore is not that as to whether Bahamas should become a member of the WTO. “It is that as to how best the nation should prepare for and negotiate the terms of its participation in this critical institution, and how it should do so while giving equal priority to the other reforms that the forging of such a relationship with the global economy are sure to trigger.” He said the introduction and potential impact of a VAT in the Bahamas must be
discussed in that broader context. “It has to be viewed as an essential part of a broader suite of economic reforms which have to be implemented as a single, coherent undertaking,” said Arthur, adding the introduction of a VAT “can be viewed as a necessary response to an evolving fiscal situation which derives from Bahamas’ special domestic circumstances. “This country has a very narrow tax base that allows it to compete effectively with territories in its immediate neighbourhood, which are still colonies of Britain, and which have economic structures similar to that of the Bahamas.
am not mincing my words,” he said. He further said that when he raised the issue of the fuel subsidy, Jamaica raised the matter of subsidy for manufacturers in Trinidad and Tobago. “… they get a subsidy too,” Gonsalves said of the Trinidadian manufacturers. “They deny it but they get a subsidy too,” Gonsalves said. He said the only way Trinidadian manufacturers can deny getting a subsidy is if all countries pay the same price, post-refinery, for fuel, not taking into account transportation, insurance and other mark-ups.
Gonsalves said the fuel subsidy fired reservations in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) ahead of joining the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. “We had a study done in the OECS which showed that the OECS could lose, if we entered the Single Market. But we went in saying what we lose on the swing we gain on the roundabout, for instance the CARICOM Development Fund. “But the CARICOM Development Fund ended up not having enough money as it should have had. So we lose on the swings and we ain’t really gain that much on the
Dr. Ralph Gonsalves roundabout… “This subsidy is a serious problem in CARICOM — fuel subsidy which Trinidad airline and producers of goods and services get,” Gonsalves said.
Rousseff’s popularity sinks after Brazil’s protests: poll BRASILIA (Reuters) President Dilma Rousseff’s approval rating plummeted and her re-election chances have dimmed in the month since massive protests of poor public services, corruption and other complaints shook Brazil, a new poll published yesterday showed. The number of Brazilians who approve of her government’s performance fell to 31.3 percent in July from 54.2 percent in June. The number of those who think it has done a bad job soared to 29.5 percent from 9 percent, the survey by polling firm MDA Pesquisa said. The poll is the second to be released since the protests began. A previous survey, by pollster Datafolha, also suggested that the myriad factors that led to the demonstrations, from the high
Dilma Roussef cost of living to the poor quality of public health and education, have quickly undermined Rousseff’s oncetowering approval ratings. According to the new poll, commissioned by private transport sector lobby CNT, Rousseff’s personal approval
rating fell to 49.3 percent in July from 73.7 percent in June. The poll showed that 84.3 percent of Brazilians approve of the protests that drew 1 million people onto the streets of Brazil’s main cities when the they peaked in June. Of those surveyed, 33.4 percent said they would still vote for Rousseff, who is expected to run for re-election next year. Meanwhile, 20.7 percent favor former presidential candidate and environmentalist Marina Silva and 15.2 percent would vote for Aecio Neves, the expected candidate for the main opposition party PSDB. Another 7.4 percent said they would vote for Eduardo Campos, the governor of Pernambuco state. The poll of 2,003 people was conducted July 7-10. The study has a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.
Private sector groups form working group to advise in trade agreements within CARICOM Jamaica Gleaner - On the heels of recent public commentary regarding Jamaica’s trade agreements with CARICOM come news that four of the country’s major organisations have formed a broad-based Private Sector Working Group to examine CARICOM and other free trade agreements.The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Jamaica Exporters’ Association (JEA), Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) have formed the committee based on feedback from their members. The four organisations also said they believe that, given the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement, and the consequent adjustments to the tax and other legislative landscape that will follow, it is critical that Jamaica’s trading arrangements are structured to complement these adjustments, in order to bring long-term benefit to the Jamaican business environment. The committee will be especially focused on determining whether there is any merit to
the complaints from their members, and ensuring that Jamaica is on the same level as its regional trading partners. The group said it aimed to work in tandem with the Government and would, therefore, make recommendations as necessary to our policy makers. The terms of reference of the committee are: “While acknowledging the value of the CARICOM relationships, this committee has been formed to review conclusively the impact, actual and potential, on the Jamaican economy, of the existing CARICOM trade arrangements and the present and proposed free trade agreements signed with and to be implemented by Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. The committee also intends to make recommendations for the amelioration of the negative aspects of those agreements, as well as to propose a more unified and efficient working mechanism between Government and the private sector for the negotiation and establishment of such agreements.”