The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor A LEADING wholesaler yesterday urged that any reforms to Freeport's 'bonded goods' economy create a "level playing field", and not place his firm and others at "a competitive disadvantage" by sucking money out of the city's economy. Robert Osborne, president of Bellevue Business Depot, told Tribune Business that whatever changes were implemented should not permit those Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) licensees unable to obtain their 'over-the-counter' bond letter to import goods direct from Florida by the container load. Via this route, companies unable to get a bond letter are still able to enjoy access to duty-free materials for use in their own business, something that sees money leave Freeport for Florida. This is a direct wealth transfer from merchants in Grand Bahama's second city, and has a knock-on effect for business profits and employment levels. "Our only complaint is let's make sure there's a 'level playing field', and whatever you do, don't put us at a competitive disadvantage," Mr Osborne told Tribune Business. "Don't make it so hard to buy from local merchants. All you're doing then is taking money out of Freeport and it's going to Florida. If there's a level playing field, we can all survive. "The loopholes they continue to leave open, and leave everyone at a competitive disadvantage in Freeport, is that they can go to the US and import containers." Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham at the weekend announced his intention to form a committee, comprised of GBPA, Ministry of Finance and GBPA licensee representatives, to review and make recommendations to reform the Customs Management Guide to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. He also indicated that Customs' requirement that GBPA licensees supply it with records showing all their 2011 bonded goods purchases, prior to receiving their 2012 bonded letter, would be put on hold pending this review. Mr Osborne told Tribune Business that this stipulation had not matched Customs' 2011 requirement, when it wanted all GBPA licensees to produce a National Insurance Board (NIB) 'Letter of Good Standing' before receiving their bonded letters, in terms of its impact on Freeport's commerce. "It's not been as devastating as the previous year when they tried to tie it to NIB," he added. "We did feel a little bit of a bump, as some clients did not produce theirs. It's not been as bad as last year." He attributed this to the fact that satisfying Customs' requirement this year just meant filing paperwork records, whereas the year before many had to find money to pay NIB for the Letter of Good Standing. For cash-strapped businesses, this was often money they did not have. "My main concern is just to make sure it's a level playing field, and no one is put at a competitive disadvantage, so we keep all the money in the local economy," Mr Osborne told Tribune Business. "It's not as bad as last year. Yes, we had a dip because some don't have their letters, but Customs has been much better to deal with than last year. As long as their is a competitive playing field, we can all survive."