CCJ to rule Tuesday on Belize’s lawsuit against T&T
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is scheduled to rule Tuesday on the Government of Belize’s landmark case against this country for allegedly failing to apply a 40 per cent Common External Tariff (CET) on shipments of brown sugar that were imported from Guatemala and Honduras in 2019.
In its lawsuit, Belize claims that the T&T Government breached the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), which established the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), by allegedly failing to apply the CET to the non-regional imports of brown sugar.
Through the case, which is the first filed by a Caricom member state against another in the CCJ’s 15 years of existence, Belize was initially seeking compensation for the losses it claimed it incurred by reducing exports to this country.
However, while presenting submissions before the seven-member CCJ panel president Adrian Saunders in November last year, Belize’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Andrew Marshalleck conceded that his client would no longer be seeking compensation as part of his lawsuit. He accepted that strongly-worded statements by the court would suffice if the case were eventually upheld.
“At the end of the day, we want to see that the market works as intended,” Marshalleck said.
Marshalleck admitted that Belize’s case against T&T was solely based on circumstantial evidence, including a drop in T&T’s importation of brown sugar from regional suppliers and trade records of exports from Guatemala and Honduras during the period.
“Circumstantial evidence is permissible, and inferences can be drawn when appropriate,” Marshalleck said.
He suggested that data provided by the T&T Government through customs records had little probative value as it only showed shipments of brown sugar that were properly declared and the CET applied, and not shipments that were possibly passed off as refined white sugar, which does not attract a CET, through false declarations.
Marshalleck noted that T&T had an obligation to enforce the CET and it failed to do so through a proper investigation after Belize made the allegations.
He pointed to the evidence of T&T witnesses Deputy Comptroller of the Customs and Excise Division Keith Huggins and acting Assistant Director of Trade Promotion and Development at the Ministry of Trade Trudy Lewis, who both admitted that they did not check for an increase in refined white sugar imports during the period.
He suggested that such statistics would have helped buttress Belize’s case that there was no explanation for the decrease in brown sugar imports from regional suppliers other than non-regional imports without the CET.
He also highlighted the fact that Belize’s witnesses testified that it would be impossible and commercially illiterate for non-regional suppliers to sell T&T importers well below the international market rate to ensure that their product is cheaper after the CET is appropriately applied.
Marshalleck also alleged that the lack of a comprehensive investigation demonstrated that T&T has a smuggling problem which it did not attempt adequately to correct to ensure the CET is applied.
“When it approaches systematic, it undermines these trade agreements entirely,” Marshalleck said.
Responding to the submissions, attorney Terrence Bharath repeatedly maintained that the CET was applied correctly as evidenced by the customs records.
“This case, unfortunately, should not have gotten off the ground,” Bharath said, as he stated that Belize’s case was speculative and based on supposition and presumptions.
He claimed that Belize failed to provide evidence that international suppliers were bound by the fluctuating market rate even when they had a surplus supply they wanted to get rid of.
He suggested that the market rates during the period presented by Belize were not certified by an independent expert and did not reflect the rate the commodity was being sold to T&T importers. Bharath also defended the investigation conducted following Belize’s complaints. He noted that it would be virtually impossible for customs officials to check imports allegedly made with false declarations months after the goods were cleared.
“Where am I going to find the sugar? It is a perishable item that is in someone’s belly at this time,” Bharath said.
While Bharath admitted that smuggling is a worldwide issue not unique to T&T, he said that this country’s investigation into the claims could not be faulted as Belize failed to provide evidence to back up its claims, including identifying the importers it was alleging had made the false declarations.
“What is there to investigate? We have no legs to stand on,” Bharath said.
Bharath stated that the drop in imports from regional suppliers could have been due to a number of factors, including less demand for the commodity during the period due to importers’ previous stockpiling.
Belize was also represented by Samantha Matute-Tucker, while Amrita Ramsook, Coreen Findley and Sasha Sukhram appeared alongside Bharath for this country.
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