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  • 1 year ago
The Finance Minister says that the Government is reviewing the feasibility of that forex window provided by the Exim Bank during the COVID pandemic.

However, his post about that on social media on Sunday follows his explanation to the Senate last week that the "importation of motor cars is one of the largest consumers of foreign exchange" in this country.

Juhel Browne brings us this report.
Transcript
00:00On Monday, the Office of the Prime Minister announced that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley
00:05returned to Trinidad and Tobago from Samoa, where he led a delegation to the 2024 Commonwealth
00:10Heads of Government meeting.
00:12In their leader's statement outlining decisions taken during the meeting, the Commonwealth
00:17Heads of Government reiterated the potential to further increase intra-Commonwealth trade
00:22and investment, building on the recognised Commonwealth advantage, and highlighted the
00:28urgent need of reforming the global financial architecture.
00:32It is one of the matters the Commonwealth leaders discussed, as Trinidad and Tobago
00:36is facing a particular challenge with its own economy.
00:40On Sunday, Finance Minister Colm Imbott posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter,
00:46in response to a Sunday Express front page article which reported that a number of business
00:51owners appealed for intervention to address what many identify as a foreign exchange or
00:57forex crisis.
00:59Minister Imbott said on X that, quote,
01:01During COVID, we created a special window at the Ex-Im Bank to provide U.S. dollars
01:06for essential imports, such as food and medicine.
01:09COVID is over, so we are reviewing the feasibility of that forex window.
01:13The need for a review cannot be too difficult, a concept for the Express to grasp, end quote.
01:20This was an apparent update to what the Finance Minister told the Senate last week on October
01:2421st when he began its debate of the Appropriation Bill for the 2025 financial year.
01:30He was at the time speaking about why the government is encouraging all energy companies
01:35operating in Trinidad and Tobago to pay their taxes in U.S. dollars.
01:39Currently, based on the information available to me, only 50% of energy sector taxes are
01:46paid in U.S. dollars, the balance in TT, and this is despite the fact that 100% of the
01:52exports of oil, gas, and petrochemical companies are in U.S. dollars.
01:58So it is something we need to deal with so that we would have a greater inflow of U.S.
02:04dollars coming into the Treasury, which would deal with the reserves, because there's many
02:10questions as to why, being an oil-producing country, we have difficulty with our foreign
02:16reserves, and this is the reason why.
02:18Later on that day, in the Upper House, Independent Senator Sunithi Miraj posed a question of her own.
02:24What would be helpful is for the Minister to say to what extent is his budget dependent
02:30on foreign exchange.
02:32The government has the first call on foreign exchange.
02:35When we earn it and we get our taxes and royalties, I imagine the first call is for service in
02:40debt.
02:41The government has been very scrupulous about that, and I think that's important.
02:48But the budget items itself, what the government intends to pay for and buy, goods and services,
02:54there is also foreign exchange consumption.
02:58When the Finance Minister wound up in the Senate's debate of the appropriation bill
03:01on October 23rd, he responded to Senator Miraj.
03:05Senator Miraj spoke about the budget's reliance on foreign exchange, okay, and then said that
03:11whereas taxes and royalties are crucial, they are budget items that consume foreign
03:15exchange.
03:16That's not entirely correct.
03:19What consumes foreign exchange in Trinidad and Tobago is consumerism.
03:24The Finance Minister then gave an example.
03:27For example, the importation of motor cars is one of the largest consumers of foreign
03:31exchange in the country.
03:32That's not a budget item, per se.
03:34That is a symptom of the country's desire for car ownership.
03:42In his budget statement on September 30th, Finance Minister Inbred said the government
03:46will once again issue interest-bearing VAT bonds in fiscal 2025 in the sum of $3 billion,
03:53with a target date for issuance of January 31st, 2025.
03:57However, the Finance Minister said that on this occasion, these bonds will be issued
04:02in a manner that does not create difficulties or shortages in the local foreign exchange
04:08market.
04:09Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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