TTMA urges TT, V’zuela to use revenue wisely

Anthony Hosang, President, TT Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA), has appealed to Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez as well as Prime Minister Patrick Manning to ensure that the revenues derived from oil and gas are used to support and develop the social and productive levels of both countries, so that all citizens will prosper.

Speaking on behalf of the private sector at a breakfast meeting in honour of Chavez on Saturday, Hosang said: “Oil and gas provide the revenue, but it has been proven that it is the non-oil manufacturing sector that provides the sustainable productive employment so desperately needed for our citizens.” He also spoke about the deep-rooted trade relations developed between TT and Venezuela. “Many TT manufacturers look to Venezuela as a source for raw materials and as a market for our finished product.” Hosang said that TT and the rest of Caricom are a market for Venezuelan products. He explained that millions of dollars have been spent in developing these markets and these trade ties. “But events in the recent past have had a negative effect on the levels of trade. Venezuela naturally remains one of the most important trading partners for TT, and we anxiously look forward to the return of the level of trade that we both have enjoyed in the past.” He also spoke about the readiness of both countries for a globalised marketplace — the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) — which is expected to come into effect by January 2005. Revenues from oil and gas, he argued, must be used to aggressively sustain and grow non-oil manufacturing sectors through strengthened regulatory institutions and infrastructure. Hosang said he hoped that Chavez’s visit would lay the foundation for the cementing and further development of trade relations.