COTED sets tariff on paint at 35%

The Council for Trade and Economic Development, COTED, has agreed to alter the CET, or common external tariff, on paints and varnishes to 35 per cent in protection of the region’s paint industry.

The CET is a unified tariff for a group of countries, usually within a customs union that applies to goods imported from countries outside the union. This means that all member countries apply the same import duties, quotas, and other trade barriers to goods entering the union.

The decision taken at the 60th COTED meeting was the result of regionwide collaboration. The rate takes effect on July 1, 2026.

The decision is expected to catalyse approximately US$200 million in investments in the paints and coatings sector of the Caricom Single Market and Economy, CSME, over the next three years.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados, Kerrie Symmonds, who chaired the meeting, said the paint industry has voiced concerns about the increasing inability to maintain a competitive position in a context where large importers from the United States and elsewhere have persistently offered paints and coatings at rates which are less than commercial.

In some cases, evidence suggests that the price offered is as much as 30 per cent below base prices in the exporting country. They also presented evidence of persistently lower free on board prices to the Caricom region than those which exist at points of sale across the continental US and in Canada.

“The clear inference to be drawn was that the regional paints and coatings manufacturers were being undercut in a systematic way. The paint industry in the region employs approximately 3,000 people and is one of Barbados’ critical exports in the region,” Symmonds said.

“The actions of these exporters into the Caricom market have led to the substantial erosion of the market share of the Caricom manufacturers in our regional market.”

He said it was against that backdrop that corrective measures were taken to prevent further disruption of employment opportunities and erosion of market share in the region.

The CET alteration comes as Caricom advances its industrial policy amid a resurgence of regionalism, rising global tensions, and the imposition of the US tariff of 10 per cent on Caricom exports.

In this context, the move to strengthen tariff protection for key industries, such as the paints and coatings sector, is seen as both a necessary defence and a proactive step towards deeper regional integration.

The task of coordinating the technical work underpinning the request for the CET alteration for paints and coatings by paint manufacturing companies in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States was given to Caricom Private Sector Organisation, CPSO.

Dr Patrick Antoine, CEO and technical director of CPSO, said that this action, which commenced with the smallest of manufacturers, secured the support of the COTED ministers.

“The alteration in the CET to 35 per cent represents a necessary and timely intervention for the paint and varnishes industry. This decision will set us on a pathway to level the playing field for Caricom manufacturers, safeguard regional jobs, and ensure that investment in quality production is not undermined by unfair trade practices,” Antoine said.

CMC