by Clive Bacchus
St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The non-application of a common external tariff on sugar imported to St. Kitts and Nevis was due to an oral instruction from the Office of the Prime Minister in 2014, a year before the current administration took office.
Senator Wendy Phipps offered that explanation pertaining to the January 2021 out-of-court settlement with Belize over the nonapplication of a 40 percent tax on sugar from Guatemala and Honduras.
Belize sued Saint Kitts-Nevis, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and CARICOM for treaty violation claiming Belize Sugar Industries Ltd. (BSI) and Santander Sugar were losing sales to these countries because of the non-application of a 40 percent external tariff.
Ms. Phipps was at pains to state that the settlement with Belize did not impose a financial penalty on the Federation but reiterated that as per the agreement the common external tariff is now in force for the importation of sugar from outside of Caricom.
