PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad– The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will begin hearing evidence on Tuesday in a matter in which Belize is alleging that Trinidad and Tobago failed to comply with its obligations under the Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC). That governs the regional integration movement (CARICOM).
Under the RTC, CARICOM states must impose a 40 percent Common External Tariff (CET) on brown sugar imported from sources outside the Caribbean region.
Belize contends that it has evidence to demonstrate that brown sugar, produced outside the Caribbean region between November 2018 to June 2020, entered the Trinidad and Tobago market without the 40 percent CET being imposed.
Trinidad and Tobago deny that it has permitted the importation of extra-regional brown sugar from any extra-regional territory without the imposition of the 40 percent CET.
The CCJ, which will sit in its Original Jurisdiction, which is an international court with exclusive jurisdiction to interpret and apply the rules set out in the RTC and to decide disputes arising under it, will be presided over by a seven-member panel, headed by its President, Justice Adrian Saunders.
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