CALLS are being made to Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon to implement measures to adjust shipping charges to what existed in March 2020.
Member of Parliament for Mayaro Rushton Paray in a press release on Wednesday said the Government should follow Guyana’s example in reverting to pre-Covid-19 Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) charges on shipped goods in order to ease financial burdens on consumers and importers.
He said, “The astronomical increases in shipping costs as a result of supply chain challenges, have led to huge hikes in customs duties, excise taxes and Value Added Tax rates. As a result, shipping costs for a 20-foot container have typically escalated from US $3,000 to as much as US $15,000, and a 40-foot container has skyrocketed from US $3,500 to US $20,000.”
Paray added the increased costs are inevitably passed onto consumers, who were already battling job losses, small business closures, and other financial difficulties.
He said, “Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon should, therefore, immediately institute measures to adjust CIF charges on commodity imports to pre-pandemic rates. This measure has been successfully instituted by the Guyanese authorities, and has been warmly embraced by consumers and business organizations.”
Moreover, the policy move would serve as a major stimulus to economic activity and facilitate private sector investments and encourage consumer savings, he said.
Paray said, “Failure to act promptly and decisively could see entrepreneurs and consumers becoming victims of even higher shipping costs, as the World Trade Organisation is forecasting further disruptions in trade.
“International economic experts have confirmed the steep rise in the cost of imported commodities over the past 18 months, to compound worsening unemployment rates.”
He highlighted that with Trinidad and Tobago’s annual $4 billion in imported food, steeper charges would have a devastating impact on nutritional levels, especially with respect to vulnerable citizens.
