ITEMS INCLUDE AERATED WATERS, BEER, STOUT, ANIMAL FEED, PAINTS AND VARNISHES, AND FURNITURE.

The Ministry of Commerce, International Trade, Investment, Enterprise Development and Consumer Affairs wishes to inform all importers and the general public that effective April 1, 2019, the tariff rates on items listed in Table 1 below will be adjusted upwards (depending on country of import) in accordance with a decision of the 74th Special Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).

This decision was made pursuant to the provisions of Article 164 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which seeks to promote industrial development in the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) of CARICOM including Saint Lucia. Article 164 provides a regime of support to eligible goods produced in LDCs on a temporary basis to help boost their competitiveness and their level of participation in intra-regional trade in the CSME.

Pursuant to Article 164, Saint Lucia in common with other beneficiary LDC CARICOM states, is required to suspend community origin treatment and apply the approved rates on similarly classified goods imported from the More Developed Countries (MDCs) of CARICOM or from outside the region until December 2028, except for curry powder and pasta which expires on December 2023. The associated tariff rates will soon be published by way of Statutory Instrument (SI) in the Saint Lucia Government Gazette.

It should be noted however, that imports of the items in Table 1 from CARICOM LDCs which include countries of the OECS, Haiti and Belize, benefit from community origin treatment and would attract a tariff rate of zero percent.

The public is hereby invited to take note of the foregoing and to be guided accordingly.

 

 

Table 1

Description of Items	Tariff Classification
Curry Powder	0910.99.30
Wheat or Meslin flour	1101.00.90
Pasta (not including 1902.40 Couscous and 1902.11 pasta cooked with eggs)	Ex. 1902
Aerated Waters	2201.10.20
Ordinary Natural Waters	2201.90
Aerated Beverages	2202.10.10
Other Waters	2202.10.90
Malt	2202.91.40
Beer	2203.00.01
Stout	2203.00.20
Prepared Poultry feed	2309.90.30
Prepared complete cattle feed	2309.90.40
Prepared complete pig feed	2309.90.50
Other prepared complete animal feed	2309.90.60
Other	2309.90.90
Oxygen	2804.40.00
Carbon Dioxide	2811.21.00
Acetylene	2901.29.20
Paint and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers)	Ex. 3209
Candles of paraffin wax	3406.00
Solar water heaters	8419.19
Chairs and other seats, with wooden frames	9401.60.00
Upholstered	9401.61.00
Other	9401.69.00
Wooden furniture of a kind used in offices	9403.30.00
Wooden furniture of a kind used in the kitchen	9403.40.00
Wooden furniture of a kind used in the bedroom	9403.50.00
Other furniture of wood and upholstered fabric	9403.60.00