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KINGSTON, Jamaica, Apr. 28, (CMC) – Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Karl Samuda, says he is dissatisfied with the current oil pricing system being used by Trinidad and Tobago.
Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Karl Samuda. Photo credit: Yhomo Hutchinson/JIS.
In a statement, today, Samuda said he has notified his Trinidadian counterpart, Paula Gopee-Scoon, that Jamaica will now be engaging in price negotiations.
According to a news release from his ministry, Samuda had a bilateral meeting with Gopee-Scoon during the 42nd regular meeting of CARICOM’s Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).
During the meeting, Samuda called for Trinidad to adjust the system under which it charges a premium for oil sold to its CARICOM (Caribbean Community) partners.
Samuda also raised objections to the twin-island republic’s continued use of subsidies to its manufacturers.
It was confirmed by the Trinidadian Trade and Industry Minister that fuel-based subsidies have already been removed entirely from super and premium gasoline, and there has also been a 15 per cent reduction in the subsidy on diesel oil, with the Trinidadian government moving towards further phased-in reductions on diesel.
