Rock Hard Cement, owned by Barbadian construction magnate Mark Maloney, has won round one of a trade dispute with the Arawak Cement Company.
The council of trade ministers in CARICOM, together with the global authority on customs classification, have agreed to the disputed classification of Rock Hard cement in the Trinidad market which enjoys lower duties compared to Arawak’s product.
But the final outcome is to be decided when the matter is heard by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) from June 11 to 13.
Trinidad Cement Limited – the parent company of Arawak Cement in Barbados brought an action before the CCJ against Trinidad and Tobago alleging that the state was misclassifying Rock Hard Cement as “other hydraulic cement”, as opposed to “Portland cement-building cement grey”.
As a result of the classification, the competing cement manufacturer claimed that Rock Hard Cement was attracting a lower rate of duty than it should.
Rock Hard Distribution Ltd applied to join the proceedings and retained legal counsel to defend the classification of its cement as “other hydraulic cement”.
The company provided testimony from international experts on both the composition of cement and its classification, and the interpretation of the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System on which the Common External Tariff is based. The CET is the CARICOM duty on extra-regional products which protects good made in the customs union.
After lawyers for Rock Hard presented the expert testimony to the CCJ, both Trinidad Cement Limited and the CARICOM Secretariat argued that the matter of classification falls within the remit of CARICOM’s ministerial decision-making body on trade issues, the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and should be decided by COTED.
The World Customs Organisation (WCO) which represents 183 customs administrations across the globe that collectively processes about 98 per cent of world trade, considered the global competent authority on customs matters, was asked by COTED to provide a ruling on the classification of Rock Hard Cement.
Both the WCO and COTED have now considered the classification of Rock Hard Cement and have ruled that Rock Hard Cement is correctly classified as “Other Hydraulic Cement” which attracts 0-5 per cent duty under the CET.
Rock Hard Cement said today it fully expects the CCJ to uphold COTED’s ruling in the matter of the classification of its product.
In response to the developments, Maloney told Barbados TODAY tonight: “We are glad to know that the ruling is in keeping with what we know to be true and are glad to see that both WCO and COTED are aligned on this matter of classification.”
The documents submitted to the CCJ in preparation for the hearing were filed last Friday by the CARICOM Secretariat’s general legal counsel, Corlita Babb-Schaefer, acting in the CCJ’s original jurisdiction as arbiter of the CARICOM Treaty.
The document, a copy of which has been obtained by Barbados TODAY, revealed that the case is between claimants Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) and Arawak Cement Company Limited, the State of Barbados as defendant, and Rock Hard Cement Limited – the intervener.
Efforts to reach Arawak’s General Manager, Yago Castro, tonight proved futile.
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The Citizens of Barbados need Rock Hard to win. Bajans are being ripped off for the last 25 years or longer by Arawak Cement co. We produce the cement here in Barbados and they ship it to the other Caribbean Islands and sell it for 30 percent cheaper there. Cement is the basic building block of all construction here and that is why everything in Barbados cost so much.
Honestly, I am glad that he has won this round.
Round ONE good, but remember it is said that “they” don’t like us BAJANS over at the CCJ.
@JERRY THAT HARD ROCK CEMENT ISNT A GOOD CEMENT, IT ISNT GOOD IN HOT TEMPERTURES AND WILL CRACK , IT DRY TOO FAST, ITS A HYDRAULIC CEMENT, ITS IS NOT GOOD TO BUILD STRUCTURES, LIKE PUTTING UP BLOCKS THAT IS WHY THE NHC BUILDINGS AND CXC BUILDING ARE CRACKING, IT IS BEST WHEN USE FOR FLAT SURFACES LIKE BASEMENTS, WHERE THE BODY IS WIDE,IT IS GOOD FOR STOPPING LEAKS, THAT IS WHY IT IS USE ON CEMENT ROOFS WITH LEAKS, ITS NOT A REAL CEMENT ITS MORE OF A SEALANT AND IS AT ITS BEST WHEN USE IN COOL PLACES FROM SUNLIGHT, IF ADDED TO ARAWAK CEMENT, THEN IT MAKE THE ARAWAK CEMENT STRONGER AND LAST EVEN LONGER LIKE MAYBE A GOOD 150 , GO ON LINE AND READY UP ON HARD ROCK CEMENT ( HYDRAULIC CEMENT) AND SEE, NOT GOOD FOR BUILDING, FOUNDATION, AND STOPPING LEAKS, THAT IS WHAT DISHONEST MARK MALONEY SHOULD HAVE TOLD THE PPL IN THE FIRST PLACE,
SHERLOCK HOLMES, ALEX ALLEYNE, YOU ALL GLAD HE WON, WITH A LOW GRADE CEMENT WHICH ISNT BETTER THAN THE CEMENT WHICH IS MADE IN BARBADOS WITH THE CLAY, EVERY BODY KNOW PORTLAND CEMENT IS THE BEST CEMENT, YOU ALL BETTER GO AND DO RESEARCH, I GINE BE SORRY FOR ALL THEM WHO BUILD THEM HOUSES OUT THIS HARD ROCK CEMENT,
Got to agree with some of these comments I use the Portland cement as first choice and for the same reasons mentioned above. On principal too I don’t buy his product as I believe it should never of been allowed to be stored off the flour mill location. Then again one rule for the haves and another for the have nots I guess.
every thing for the have not the have nots is true, but the thing about it is bajans dont do no research bout nothing, if they had they would see that hard rock cement aint better than portland cement, (arawak), but some bajans just like to jump up and holla out hard, but hollowing hard aint hollowing right,
@ ROGER PARRIS, If what you are saying about Hard Rock Cement is factual, it does not matter to the government anyway,when it comes to the construction of Government buildings,as Government buildings are not designed to last much longer than the proverbial snow cone.
@BELFAST, IKT ONLY WITH IN THE LAST TEN YEARS THAT BUILDING IN YOUR BARBADOS WERE BEING BUILD WITH HARD ROCK CEMENT, AND I AM SURE THAT ON ONE IN THE DLP EVER GIVE THOUGHT TO DOING RESEARCH OR LOOKING INTO THIS BRAND, HERE IN THE USA (THAT TYPE OF CEMENT WHICH IS CALLED HYDRAULIC CEMENT) IT IS USE FOR WHAT I SAID ,, FOUNDATIONS AND FOR LEAKING CEMENT ROOFS, AND STOPPING WATER LEAKS, AND MARINE USE LIKE JETTIES PILES ETC, ITS MORE LIKE A SEALANT, SO IF THE DLP HAD DONE HOME WORK MARK MALONEY WONT BE BUILDING NOTHING WITH IT, CEMENT MADE OD CLAY THE WAY ARAWAK MAKES IT IS THE BETTER CEMENT, DONT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT GO AND GET A TOUR OF THE CXC BUILDING NOT EVEN THE NHC, (LEAVE GOVERNMENT OUT OF IT FOR NOW) AND YOU WILL SEE WHAT I MEAN, I HAVE PHOTOS, OF CXC, EVEN WHEN THE RAIN FALL CXC LEAKS, AND THAT IS BECAUSE ITS A POOR CHOICE FOR HOT CLIMATES LIKE BARBADOS, WHEN EXPOSE TO TOO MUCH HEAT ITS NOT STABLE, LIKE PUTTING IT BLOCKS, ITS BETTER LIKE FOR BASEMENTS FOUNDATIONS, AND ROOFS, WHERE IT ACTS AS A SINGLE UNIT, CAUSE IT CONTRACTS AND EXPANDS, THAT IS WHY YOU GET THE CRACKING BETWEEN THE BLOCKS BECAUSE ITS NOT A SINGLE UNIT, ITS POOR QUALITY, BOTTOM LINE,