A review of duties on essential items imported into the territory is likely to come soon, according to Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley.
Responding recently to concerns about the high cost of living, Mr. Wheatley noted that most of the food consumed in the Virgin Islands comes from abroad, and he said residents can help the situation by making changes at home.
“We are not immune to what is happening in the rest of the world,” he said during a Nov. 26 press conference. “We can try to see what we can do to try to control what is within our power. We have to produce more food locally.”
Reform of levies is on the table as well, according to the premier.
“We also have to review our tax and our duty regime,” he said. “Many of the items that come in, which are essential items, are already zero rated, or they are below five percent duty. It is something that we have to continue to review.”
Mr. Wheatley added that he is looking at other ways to tweak duties to encourage vendors to offer “more reasonable” prices.
Trade Commission
The premier said he also wants to revisit the planned Trade Commission, which previously was set to become a statutory body in place of the existing Trade Department.
“One of my main priorities in moving to the Ministry of Financial Services, Economic Development and Digital Transformation is to really bring clarity to the role of the Trade Commission,” he said.
The commission, which was to be created pursuant to a 2020 law that took effect in November 2022, was initially billed as a badly needed reform that would help modernise trade processes and oversee the framework needed to enforce consumer protection laws.
But in November 2023, the House of Assembly voted to suspend the nascent commission by passing the Virgin Islands Trade Commission (Suspensory) Act, 2023.
At the time, then-deputy premier Lorna Smith explained the reasoning behind the move.
“Upon assuming office as the minister responsible for trade at the end of April 2023, it became evident that the [Trade] Commission was still in its early stages of development, raising concerns about its viability and effectiveness,” Ms. Smith told the HOA at the time. “Given the circumstances, a careful evaluation of the act’s implementation became imperative.”
Trade Department employees, she added, were put in a difficult position by the passage of the law.
“Employees were granted six months, from November 2022 to May 2023, to choose between remaining with the central government or transitioning to the statutory body, which was still inactive,” she told the HOA at the time. “In fact, one of my initial official duties was to attend the orientation of the board on May 15, nearly six months after the act had become law. It was on that day that I began to question the wisdom of implementing the Virgin Islands Trade Commission under our current circumstances.”
Cost of commission
Ms. Smith also said at the time that she had sought a clear implementation plan and budget from officials working to establish the commission.
Eight months after the legislation was enacted, she said, she received a budget estimate of $1.5 million and a timeline estimate of implementing services by 2026.
“This expenditure was primarily aimed at maintaining the status quo in terms of service delivery while funding core administrative costs such as [human resources] management, financial management, payroll systems, information technology, and legal services separately from central government,” she said. “Achieving financial independence in the commission’s second year was projected to require a 154 percent increase in trade licensing fees.”
She added at the time that the government intended to review the Trade Department’s existing structure and responsibilities over the coming year to decide the way forward.