CARICOM assesses regional capacity to meet cement, paints, bitumen demand

Four CARICOM assessment teams will meet between October 12 and 27 to determine whether the Region has the capacity to meet its own demand for paints, hydraulic cement, glass bottles and bitumen, with their findings expected to inform decisions on future tariffs for the products.
The assessments will examine regional production and supply, the competitiveness of locally produced goods against imports from outside the Community, and the potential effects of changes in tariff treatment on businesses and consumers.
The reports will be considered by regional trade Ministers as they determine the future tariff treatment of the four products.
The teams were established by the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) at its 62nd Regular Meeting in June 2026.
“The Council has directed the assessment teams to be rigorous in examining the regional supply and demand for products and give careful consideration to the sensitivities of all stakeholders and consumers who rely on a stable and predictable supply of the products being assessed,” Assistant Secretary-General (SG) of CARICOM Single Market and Trade, Ambassador Wayne McCook, stated.
The teams, coordinated by the CARICOM Secretariat, comprise technical representatives from several Member States. The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission and the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation have also been invited to participate in the meetings.
As part of their assessments, the teams will compare the competitiveness of intra-regional trade with imports from outside the Community. They will also examine the effects of the Common External Tariff, non-tariff barriers and logistics costs on trade in the products.
In addition, the assessments will review the application of CARICOM’s Rules of Origin criteria, which determine whether goods qualify for preferential treatment under regional trade arrangements.
The teams are expected to seek input from stakeholders in the public and private sectors, consumers and civil society to inform their findings.
The petroleum bitumen assessment team comprises representatives from Guyana, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
The team examining other hydraulic cement includes Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
Representatives from Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago will assess glass bottles, while the paints and varnishes team includes Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, alongside the OECS Commission.
COTED is the CARICOM organ responsible for trade and economic development and comprises the Ministers responsible for trade in the Community’s 15 Member States.