The intense competition that already exists within The Bahamas construction industry is likely to nullify the impact proposals within the draft Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement may have on the sector, an industry insider told The Tribune.
Maurice Marwood, presidennt and chief executive of Atlantic Equipment and Power, said although the FTAA’s impact was difficult to determin at this stage, given that the treaty was still in draft form, the Bahamian construction industry already faces competition from US firms who have gone to great lengths to form relationships with members of the industry.
“We certainly have no sort of monopoly. We get intense competition already from the US for our equipment,” Mr. Marwood said. “And we have people from the states over here all the time, coming in competition to ourselves – even advertising in The Bahamian yellow pages – making them very well-known to the customers here in The Bahamas,. So I really don’t think the FTAA will have significant effect on our business because I can’t imagime it getting much more intense than it is already,” he said.
Under initial proposals for the FTAA Visa, individuals fromthe Western Hemisphere states that signed on to the treaty would be allowed to import equipment and material into another member country duty free when an individual firm was entering for a short period of time. The issue was discussed during the 7th Americas Business Forum in Quito, Ecuador, by business leaders.
According to Keith Glinton, a senior manager of Esso Standard Oil and a member of the Bahamian delegation to the forum, based upon concerns expressed by this nation’s construction industry, The Bahamas took the position that the description of goods should not be expanded to include tools and equipment and should be limited to promotional material.
By Yolanda Deleveaux, The Tribune
