GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Four CARICOM assessment teams will examine whether the region can meet its own demand for paints, other hydraulic cement, glass bottles and bitumen, with their findings expected to help determine future tariff treatment for the products.
Ministers at the Sixty-second Regular Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development in Georgetown, Guyana, 11-12 June 2026, where four teams were established to assess regional supply of paints, cement, glass bottles and bitumen. (CARICOM Secretariat file photo)The teams will meet between October 12 and 27 to assess regional production and demand, competitiveness and the challenges affecting trade within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), according to a statement from the CARICOM Secretariat.
The assessments will provide input for regional trade ministers as they consider future tariff treatment for the products.
The teams were established by the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) at its 62nd regular meeting in June.
Ambassador Wayne McCook, Assistant Secretary-General for the CARICOM Single Market and Trade, said the assessments must examine regional supply and demand rigorously while taking into account the interests of businesses and consumers.
“The Council has directed the assessment teams to be rigorous in examining the regional supply and demand for products and give careful consideration to the sensitivities of all stakeholders and consumers who rely on a stable and predictable supply of the products being assessed,” McCook said.
The teams will examine how regional products compete with imports from outside CARICOM, including the effects of the Common External Tariff, non-tariff barriers and transport and logistics costs.
They will also review how CARICOM’s Rules of Origin apply to the products, while seeking input from public- and private-sector stakeholders, consumers and civil society.
The assessment teams will cover four product categories: petroleum bitumen, other hydraulic cement, glass bottles, and paints and varnishes.
A team from Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago will participate in the assessment of petroleum bitumen while another will deal with glass bottles.
The cement team will comprise Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The paints and varnishes team will include Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, along with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission.
The teams are coordinated by the CARICOM Secretariat. The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission and the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation have also been invited to participate in the meetings.
