The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas' accesion to full World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership has come to a "grinding halt", a Cabinet Minister yesterday arguing that private sector and public involvement is now key to how this nation moves forward.

Brent Symonette, in his contribution to the 2017-2018 Budget debate, said the Bahamas first applied for full WTO membership back in 2001. "We are at the stage now where we have to engage the public as to where this WTO process will go," the Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Commerce, and Immigration said.

"The process seems have come to a grinding halt. We need to bring that whole process forward to discuss where we want to go with the WTO."

Mr Symonette highlighted concerns expressed by Bahamian manufacturers about the need to protecting local industry via tariff barriers.

"We manufacture paint here. It's about 5 per cent of the paint industry. We seek to reduce the duty on paint. This is the type of discussion that we have to have, and also with juices. If we want to provide protectionism or duties that allow for Bahamians to manufacture we need to have that discussion relative to the WTO," said Mr Symonette.

He added that WTO accession has traditionally meant the lowering of import duties to provide "a level playing field".

"That's a discussion that my ministry will be having over the next few months," Mr Symonette said. "We will meet with the business community, the manufacturing community to see what are their needs, the difficulties and how we can make this all work to provide employment for Bahamians in the manufacturing industry."

Bahamian juice drink manufacturers have warned they face "irreparable harm" if the Government eliminates the 60 per cent duty on rival imports, with one warning up to 20 jobs are at stake.

Former Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller, himself a paint supplier via Sunburst Paints, recently told Tribune Business that the tariff reductions on imported paint and associated products, plus batteries, ran completely counter to the Free National Movement's (FNM) 'It's the people's time' campaign slogan.

By making imported rivals more competitive on price, Mr Miller, a former minister of trade and industry, warned that the Government's actions threatened the survival of existing manufacturers while also discouraging Bahamian entrepreneurs from entering the sector.