REGIONAL NEWS

 

 

TRADE BLOC GETS AID FROM U.K. BUT PUNITIVE TAX STAYS

Caribbean trade and foreign ministers sat down last week in Grenada with British Foreign Secretary William Hague to discuss the state of their relations. While all agreed that contact between the empire and some of her former colonies was decent, major differences remain as to what the region sees as a British tax assault on its lifeline, the tourism industry.

The three-day meeting that ended with a friendly cricket match between the two delegations came as the 15-nation bloc of countries continues to complain about hefty increases on airline tickets from London. The David Cameron administration imposed the increases two years ago to increase domestic revenue while making it more expensive for British tourists to frequent destinations like Jamaica, Tobago and Barbados, among others.

Of the regional ministers who attended the forum, few made any pretence that the Air Passenger Duty (APD), which in some cases has increased ticket prices for single passenger by up to $150, was not their main agenda item. The British, on the other hand, wanted to discuss climate change, international security and prosperity, among other issues.

Later in the week, Jeremy Brown, the British state minister for foreign and commonwealth relations, told a forum in neighboring Trinidad that while London empathizes with the Caribbean about the effects of the tax, it has to remain for now because Britain is borrowing $500 million a day "just to meet our spending obligations."

That, of course, did not appease regional officials, as former bloc Secretary General Edwin Carrington argued that the tax is not only punitive to the region but discriminatory, as the group is placed in the same band with Hawaii, 200 miles farther from London than the Caribbean.

"What is worrying us," Carrington said, "is that you have Hawaii, which is 7,380 miles away from London-they are paying less than we are paying. That is the problem."

The region has mounted several teams on lobbying missions to London in the past two years to no avail and has taken the opportunity of every forum with the British with zero success.

"We have to bring our budget deficit under control. That means we have a range of taxes that we would rather not have, but rather reduce," Brown said.

In the meantime, Hague announced a total of $117 million in aid over four years for development projects for the region; a figure he said was higher than previous cycles and proves British commitment to the Caribbean.

"We are one of the few nations in the world that is maintaining its international development commitments at a time of financial difficulty. We will stick to our pledge to raise our aid to 0.7 percent of GNI [gross national income], and you will find us a reliable partner," he said, remarks that are welcome to regional airs but unlikely to appease the anger about the air ticket tax.