Guyana pushes for transitional arrangement to cushion BREXIT blow

May 05, 2017 News

Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU), commonly referred to as “BREXIT”, will have implications for Guyana, particularly in the area of trade.
The government is currently in discussions with the United Kingdom (UK) with hopes of having a transitional arrangement in place to somewhat cushion the blow.
This was according to Guyana’s Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge, during a press conference hosted at his Ministry in Georgetown, Wednesday.
Greenidge last week, accompanied Guyana’s President, David Granger, to the UK where discussions were held with UK representatives regarding a range of important pertinent issues. BREXIT and its implication on the Caribbean, was listed as one.
It is the view of the Foreign Affairs Minister that neither party in question – the UK and the EU – has a “complete picture” of what is to evolve since the proposal has to go through a phase of negotiations.
He, however, noted that the visit was not to find out the nitty-gritty of the negotiations but rather, to indicate to the British Government some of Guyana’s concerns.
“Our (visit to the UK) was not so much (to) find out what they are negotiating but more to indicate to the British Government where our concerns lay, where our interest lay, to ascertain from them, whether in terms of timetable or (during) their negotiation whether they had anything they think we should know.
“And perhaps, most importantly, to ask them to address the question of the transition from Britain in the EU, to Britain out of the EU.”
That transition has implications, the Minister warned, for those who supply the UK with products such as sugar and for those who purchase goods from the UK.
The Minister predicated that once Britain is out, there will be tariffs of some type.
“Guyana as a country selling products to Britain will have to face such tariffs…We will have to now deal with Britain as a new arena into which we want to get products. Therefore, we have to see with them what can be done maybe about the tariffs.
“That is what we are discussing, to have a transitional arrangement so that not only Britain, but the entire Caribbean can have a soft landing as a result of these changes,” the Minister said.
During the visit to the UK, the President and Minister also met with members of the Guyanese Diaspora at a public meeting at the Classic Banqueting Suite, Caribbean Fusion Restaurant in Tooting, London.

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