Guyana to lead charge in removing regional trade barriers – President Ali

– warns other countries of consequences if they try to keep barriers

As Guyana looks to expand its reach globally, the focus is being placed on getting its products into markets across the Caribbean region and according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, efforts are being made to remove hindrances to trade within the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
He made this remark recently during his feature address at the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association’s (GMSA) Annual Awards Ceremony.
In the same vein, however, the Head of State also warned of consequences for those countries that insist on keeping those barriers intact that affect the smooth flow of intra-regional trade.
“We cannot be serious in this region about integration – all the fancy talk, if we are not willing to remove the barriers and we are going to lead the charge to remove the barriers to our products all across this region. There will be consequences for those who think they can keep the barriers forever. I’m very frank about this. If you believe that you want to keep the barriers forever, go right ahead. But trust me, there will be consequences. Don’t tell us Guyana has the potential to be the food basket of the Caribbean and then you block us on the other side,” President Ali argued.
Only last week, President Ali expressed some harsh words on the need to reduce barriers of trade across the region when he virtually addressed the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturing Association President’s Dinner and Awards Ceremony.
He told the T&T private sector that, “We have to wrap ourselves around a common objective, to see our operating space as one, and remove those barriers that have kept back the food production system and those barriers that have been nothing but a hindrance to our countries within the region. If we are not prepared to do this, then we are not serious.”
“And the manufacturing associations across the region should get on board to ensure that these barriers are removed. Because when these barriers are removed, it brings a lot of opportunities to you in the manufacturing sector,” the Head of State added.
The Guyanese leader also highlighted the glaring disparity in the import and export of food regionally, and again lobbied for more to be done to lessen the importation bills.
Months after assuming office, President Ali had charged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to assess and address the hurdles related to exporting food and agricultural products to markets within the region. As such, concerns of barriers to trade against exports to some Caricom markets were raised with the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) earlier this year.
The Ministry subsequently formed a National Working Group on Barriers to Trade against Exports from Guyana. According to the assessment on market access by the working group, most of the challenges found were related to technical measures including sanitary and phytosanitary measures. They also found several technical and administrative regulations that were all hampering the export of Guyanese products.

President Irfaan Ali at the GMSA Awards Ceremony

Against this backdrop, Guyana called on Caricom Member States at the COTED meeting to engage in bilateral discussions to iron out trade barriers with a view of expanding intra-regional trade. Similar views were shared by Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Jamaica, and Barbados.
In fact, Guyana and Barbados have since moved forward to minimise the occurrences of these measures that frustrate intra-regional trade with the aim of reducing food importation bills, as part of the overall regional food security plans.
President Ali told mostly Private Sector representatives at GMSA’s event that during his October visit to the Caribbean island, he and Prime Minister Mia Mottley hammered out a concrete time-bound framework for enhanced collaboration and trade between the two nations.
“Prime Minister Mia Mottley has assured me, not only assured, but we have both set ourselves a timetable to dismantle all the barriers between Guyana and Barbados to export and import our products – all the barriers,” the Guyanese leader indicated.
Among the outcomes of that engagement between the two regional leaders, are the exchange of technicians between the Ministries of Agriculture to facilitate smooth and efficient transaction flow; air time in both countries to advertise each other’s tourism sector, and the twinning of the tourism products of each nation as a joint package; training of Guyanese for the country’s growing hospitality industry; dedicated port facility space for each other in the two countries; and creating a market in Barbados for Guyana’s forest-based products and gold. However, while the Ali-led People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government is putting all these systems in place to foster and expand Guyana’s trade, the Head of State contended that the local Private Sector needs to ready itself to tap into these opportunities.
“So, the potential is there. How do we capture it? …I have made the point and we too have to change. The Government is going to invest in all the facilities to do the testing, the labs – everything. We are going to benefit from state-of-the-art facilities, and remove all the excuses that exist. It is not because we want a bigger market share. All we are asking is for fairness in the system… But you have to be prepared. You have to build a business model to follow the direction of business policy,” the Guyanese leader urged the local Private Sector.