By Richard Bhainie

THE Attorney-General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, S.C., on Tuesday, met with representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) and discussed issues relating to the importation of goods from Florida, USA.

Present at the meeting was the Chairman of AmCham, Zulfikar Ally and AmCham’s Economist, Stephen Kissoon, as well as the United States Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Mark Cullinane and Economic/Commercial Officer, Benjamin Hulefeld.

The main concern of the delegation was the Guyana Government Analyst Food and Drug Department’s (GA-FDD) refusal to accept Certificates of Free Sale issued by Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI), a non-profit, public/private entity which certifies products for exports on behalf of the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Agriculture.

The Attorney-General was informed that GA-FDD is insisting on a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Certificate for such goods, however, the FDA certificate is no longer issued in respect of goods exported from Florida and that function is now performed by Enterprise Florida Inc.

During the meeting, the Attorney-General reiterated Guyana’s commitment to free trade and market economy, subject of course to obligations owed under various treaties.

However, he cautioned that the government and the state apparatus must remain vigilant to protect Guyana from “dumping”, a problem facing countries all over the globe. Therefore, goods coming into the country, especially food items, must be carefully scrutinised.

The Attorney-General indicated that he has received several complaints from local businesses of the very issue and that the problem has been compounded by the allegation that no-objection is granted to certain importers based upon no known criteria.

He further indicated that several matters of litigation have been filed against the government because of this very issue. The minister assured that he will follow the issue up with his colleague sector minister and the agency involved with a view to bringing regularity to this issue in a timely manner.