CARICOM suspends tariff on lithium-ion batteries imports into Jamaica
The CARICOM Secretariat has approved the suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET) on the importation of lithium-ion batteries into the island nation.
Effective dates and battery quantity
The suspension, authorized on February 2, 2024, will remain in effect until February 1, 2025, covering a substantial quantity of 240,000 lithium-ion batteries.
Ministerial intervention and bilateral consultations
The Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce says the decision follows intervention by Minister Aubyn Hill at the 57th Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development on November 27, 2023, and subsequent bilateral consultations between Jamaica and Barbados.
Continued industry monitoring and regional capacity assessment
Jamaica’s Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce said it will monitor tutilise the mechanisms available under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to verify and determine regional capacity to supply the product, in the coming months.
It further said this will be an important factor in examining the scope for renewal of the CET suspension.
