World Trade Centre Georgetown says US must return to CBERA’s duty-free regime

Last Updated on Friday, 24 April 2026, 22:20 by Writer

The World Trade Centre Georgetown (WTCG) says it is advocating for a return to the duty-free provisions of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA the successor to the Caribbean Basin Initiative) which governed the CARICOM region’s trade relations with the United States (US) prior to the imposition of tariffs by the current US administration.

This advocacy for a return to duty-free treatment for exports to the US from the Caribbean is taking place at the 56th Annual Global Business Forum (GBF) and General Assembly of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) currently in session in Philadelphia, USA.

WTCG Executive Director Wesley Kirton is participating in the forum and has been raising the issue in various meetings even as much of the discussion on tariffs has been advising about market diversification on the part of exporters to the US.

But at a session on Tuesday on navigating tariffs, Guyana and several delegations from Africa pointed to the critical positive impact that the provisions of CBERA and the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) have had in helping to sustain business enterprises and jobs in Caribbean and African countries.

“To add to the problem regarding Guyana, we have a 15% tariff while the rest of CARICOM enjoys a 10% tariff. This puts exports from Guyana at a disadvantage, and I believe that the CARICOM Region would prefer a return to CBERA,” Kirton said, describing the tariffs as unreasonable for a region comprising small island developing states (SIDS) and Guyana with a coastland below sea level that are subject to the worse effects of climate change.

World trade centers across the United States were urged to advocate for restoring a rules-based trading system.

The World Trade Centre Georgetown (WTCG) is planning a forum on strategies for addressing the issue of tariffs and has extended an invitation to Arun Venkataraman, former head of the US Foreign Commercial Service to lead the discussions at the forum.