HEAD of Guyana’s Private Sector Commission (PSC), Komal Singh, has emphasised the need for aggressive action to address the non-tariff barrier that exists and prohibits the trade of some goods across regional markets.

Singh, made this comment last week at PSC’s 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and just days after a shipment of milk products from Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) was blocked from entering Trinidad and Tobago.

“We need to go and analyse those [non-tariff barriers] and work aggressively to make sure we have them removed as quickly as possible,” the private sector official said.

He added: “We do not want that non-tariff barrier to exist when our industries start growing rapidly from the manufacturing sector… Our private sector and other members will continue to review those non-traffic barriers and to look at means and ways, where we can remove and work with government and the other countries to have those removed as quickly as possible.”

He further stressed that with the ongoing assessments for the operation for a regional ferry which will operate between Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados to enhance trade, existing trade barriers must be addressed expeditiously.

The DDL issue was later resolved with representatives from the local private sector and officials from the twin island republic conveying a meeting.

Following this, Guyana’s Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, had said that although vital sanitary regulations exist to safeguard the integrity of goods during shipment, these must not be used to “stymie” the flow of trade among Caribbean Community [CARICOM] member states.

“We’ve always been in the forefront of the fight for the reduction of trade barriers in our region. We have had a long-standing stable position that phytosanitary restrictions must not be used to supplant tariffs …Going forward we will insist upon full reciprocity in matters of trade,” Dr Jagdeo said.

He related that Guyana is simply looking to be treated fairly in the trade of goods and this will be applicable to any state.

“All we want is our goods to be treated fairly in their market as their goods are treated here,” Dr Jagdeo said.

Back in February, Guyana’s President and current CARICOM Chairman, Dr. Irfaan Ali, sounded a call for the people of the Caribbean to hold their respective leaders accountable and address the existing barriers.

“We are continuing work to address the removal of trade barriers within member states and the people of CARICOM must put pressure on the leaders of CARICOM to remove the trade barriers. It is of no use and purpose for this region,” Dr. Ali had said, during his address at the opening ceremony of the 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government held in Georgetown.

Trade barriers include any regulation or policy that restricts trade, especially tariffs, quotas and licences, among other things.

The importance of addressing this issue is amplified by ongoing efforts of the Caribbean leaders to slash the region’s exorbitant food-import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.