Govt seeks cut on cement tariff

He said this at a post-Cabinet media conference at Whitehall yesterday.

The local construction sector, he said, had complained to the Government about a current shortage of materials. He said he would approach the Caricom Secretariat which would have 14 days to say yes or no.

Valley noted that Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) has claimed that they are satisfying the local market and that there is no cement shortage.

But he noted that if TCL wants to lobby to maintain the CET, they would have to prove to the Caricom Secretariat that it could supply 75 percent of the cement needed by the Caribbean market.

“We are trying to increase the supply and to remove the bottleneck in cement, aggregate and steel,” Valley stated.

He noted that last year had seen a 8.2 percent growth in construction locally.

On another issue, Valley said Cabinet had earlier agreed to immediately set up an office to help local manufacturers access trade to Cuba.