CARICOM teams to assess regional supply of paints, cement, glass bottles & bitumen

Four CARICOM assessment teams are to meet between October 12 and 27, 2026 to examine whether the Region can meet its own demand for paints, hydraulic cement, glass bottles and bitumen. Their reports will be critical inputs that regional trade ministers will consider in deciding on future tariff treatment for the products.

The groups were established by the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) at its Sixty-second Regular Meeting in June this year.

“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,” Assistant Secretary-General, CARICOM Single Market and Trade, Ambassador Wayne McCook stated.

The teams, which are coordinated by the CARICOM Secretariat, comprise technical representatives from several Member States. The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission and the CARICOM Private Sector Organization have been invited to participate in the meetings.

The groups will examine the competitiveness of intra-regional trade against extra-regional imports, including the effect of the Common External Tariff, non-tariff barriers and logistics costs, and review how the Community’s Rules of Origin criteria apply to the products. They are expected to enlist support and input from stakeholders in the public and private sectors, consumers and civil society as they prepare for their meetings.

The Assessment Teams:

Petroleum bitumen: Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Other Hydraulic Cement: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

Glass bottles: Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Paints and varnishes: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission.

COTED is the CARICOM organ responsible for trade and economic development, and comprises ministers responsible for trade in the Community’s fifteen Member States. (CARICOM)