CEMENT CRISIS TRIGGERS SHOCKWAVES IN JAMAICA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 001286 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR (WBENT),WHA/EPSC (JSLATTERY) SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS AND FAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN EIND JM SUBJECT: CEMENT CRISIS TRIGGERS SHOCKWAVES IN JAMAICA REF: KINGSTON 555 ¶1. Summary: An ongoing cement shortage has caused immense social and economic fallout, with potential negative implications for Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's fledgling administration. In 2004, despite strong opposition from interest groups, the GOJ yielded to pressure from the Caribbean Cement Company, Limited (CCCL) to raise the duty on imported cement to approximately 40 percent (15 percent is CARICOM's Common External Tariff (CET),with an additional 25.83 percent "safeguard"). By late 2005, however, CCCL faced quality and production difficulties (reftel) which hampered construction projects and stalled economic growth. In response, the GOJ announced a three-month waiver of the safeguard. Cement importers were reluctant to respond to this incentive due to the short timeframe, so to alleviate the crisis, the GOJ removed both the safeguard and the CET for a period of one year. Industry sources told emboffs that supply should normalize by July, but the GOJ will face strong resistance in attempting to re-implement the tariff when the one year waiver expires. End summary. -------------- Background -------------- ¶2. Caribbean Cement Company, Limited (CCCL) is a subsidiary of Trinidad Cement, Limited (TCL),and is currently the only domestic source of cement in Jamaica. Facing stiff competition from cement importers, CCCL complained in 2003 to the Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission (ADSC) that its viability was being threatened and argued for protection. Interest groups - led by the Incorporated Master Builders Association of Jamaica (IMBAJ) - vigorously opposed the request. In a meeting on May 30, IMBAJ President Michael Archer told emboffs that CCCL used a proposed USD 100 million expansion project to influence the GOJ to increase the duty regime to protect the company. ¶3. The GOJ mandated the ADSC to carry out an investigation under the Safeguard Act to study the industry and to recommend a new tariff regime. By December 2003, the ADSC found that cement had been imported in such increased volume as to cause injury to CCCL. It recommended a provisional safeguard measure in the amount of 25.83 percent to remedy or prevent serious injury, as well as to allow CCCL the time to complete its upgrade in order to achieve ;international competitiveness. Despite opposing submissions from IMBAJ, among others, the ADSC reconfirmed its findings and recommendations in July 2004. The GOJ therefore applied the increased 25.83 percent tariff rate on top of CARICOM's 15 percent Common External Tariff (CET) in November 2004, for a period of four years. -------------- Cracks Appear At Cement Company -------------- ¶4. By November 2005, buoyant demand to support a booming construction sector, as well as quality and production difficulties, precipitated a major shortage of cement to the local market (reftel). CCCL initially blamed the shortage on strike action and torrential rain, but by February it was forced to recall 500 tons of faulty cement and halted delivery. The company then admitted that a breakdown in its quality control system was responsible for the delivery of sub-standard product. When CCCL realized its quality assurance system had failed it decided to import from its parent company, TCL. However, increased local and regional demand meant that TCL could not supply its Jamaican subsidiary. This forced CCCL to look outside CARICOM, but ironically the high tariff rate made this economically undesirable. The company therefore agreed with importers that a tariff review was necessary to ease the shortage. -------------- Shortages Shock Economy -------------- ¶5. The cement shortage shocked the Jamaican economy, with real GDP for January to March 2006 growing by only 1.4 percent due in part to a 6.3 percent decline in construction output, a far cry from the seven percent growth recorded in 2005. With less than two-thirds of daily demand being met, a number of construction projects have been temporarily suspended. Archer said 80 percent of the country's limited supply is going to foreign and GOJ projects, a disturbing situation for local investors, who think the system is stacked against them. "There is a view that the incentive structure is skewed against locals", Archer stated. There is anecdotal evidence of bankrupt contractors due to cost overruns and missed deadlines. Between 25 and 30 percent of Jamaica's 107,000 construction workers are now unemployed, he continued. With the construction sector closely linked to the retail sector, many businesses are recording steep declines in sales. ¶6. For some retail outlets the impact has been two-fold: in addition to losing revenues from cement sales the shortage has also hurt the sale of complementary items. Chairman of Grace Kennedy and Hardware and Lumber (H&L) Douglas Orane told emboffs on June 5 that his company was receiving only 30,000 bags of cement per month, down from 65,000. To combat falling sales and profitability, Orane asked the CEO of TCL Rollin Bertram to make up the difference from his plant in Trinidad, but Bertram declined. This prompted Orane to question the efficacy of the Caribbean Single Market (CSM),but when asked to expand, Orane backtracked, suggesting the crisis did not signal a failure of the CSM, but a failure of TCL. However, he said it was a sign of CSM weakness if a regional conglomerate favors its home market in a time of crisis. -------------- GOJ Slow To React -------------- ¶7. With supplies drying up and public pressure mounting, Minister of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce (MITEC),Phillip Paulwell, eventually intervened in late 2005, directing the Jamaica Trade Board to monitor supplies at CCCL to ensure that demand was being met. However, it was not until February that the Trade Board confirmed that CCCL was not meeting domestic demand and recommended GOJ intervention. Paulwell responded by initially reducing the duty to the CET of 15 percent for six months, but with importers unwilling to risk returning to the market on such a short-term basis, the supply problems intensified. There were increased calls, even among his People's National Party (PNP) supporters, for the resignation of Paulwell, who has a history of costly policy blunders. Facing the biggest test of her fledging administration, but wanting to support her closest parliamentary ally, Simpson-Miller announced a full waiver of the tariff for one year, while stoutly supporting her embattled Minister. ¶8. On June 1 emboffs met with Permanent Secretary for MITEC, Jean Dixon, and her team to get the GOJ's perspective on the crisis. Dixon stated that there were both supply and quality issues at play, but she preferred to await a report commissioned by the Ministry. (Note: Unconfirmed reports are that the investigating team has cited CCCL for dereliction of duty and has recommended that the company face the full penalties under the law. End note.). She noted that a shortage of cement on the world market and high regional demand also affected the ability of the country to emerge from the crisis. Dixon reported that one investor has equipment in Jamaica to set up a new plant and another was contemplating the investment. When asked about the implications the crisis has for the smooth operations of the CSM, Dixon suggested that the experience can only help to shape the process going forward and teach policy makers how to avoid errors in the future. -------------- -------------- Crisis Threatens Fifth Term, But Supplies Trickle In -------------- -------------- ¶9. Despite her overwhelming popularity, the cement debacle is turning into a nightmare for Simpson-Miller. With general elections looming, supporters of the PNP are worried the crisis could hurt the party's chances of winning a fifth consecutive term. Poll results suggest that Simpson-Miller's popularity, while still high, is slipping, no doubt due in part to the immense social and economic fallout from the crisis. Her unwavering support for Paulwell has not helped her cause, even among colleagues. They are upset that Paulwell remains so influential in the handling of an issue which has caused many grassroots supporters to lose their livelihood. This has not escaped the attention of the opposition Jamaica Labor Party (JLP),which has used the opportunity to pressure the embattled Minister to resign. The usually conservative Jamaica Gleaner newspaper launched a scathing attack on Paulwell for his history of costly policy mistakes. IMBAJ's Archer said his members discussed street protests, but that he managed to dissuade them. He said any re-imposition of the duty, however, would be "politically explosive" and "could bring the administration to its knees." ¶10. While supplies have begun to trickle in, things are far from returning to normality. At the end of May CCCL received 80,000 bags of cement from Venezuela and most local hardware and retail merchants were able to receive supplies for the first time in weeks. On June 23, 200,000 tons of cement finally arrived from Cuba, after being plagued by transportation logistics problems and poor weather. Paulwell noted that the ship, once unloaded, will immediately return to Cuba to deliver another shipment. While daily demand is still unsatisfied, there has been an easing of the crisis at the retail level, with some smaller projects resuming. According to Orane, the sector should return to normal by the middle of July, when there could be a glut, creating a different set of problems. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. The cement crisis was not unexpected given submissions presented to the ADSC during the investigations. However, it was evident from the outset that the GOJ, searching for success stories, was bent on protecting CCCL in exchange for the proposed USD 100 investment. Ironically the policy decision has come back to haunt the Simpson Miller government and the lost output and associated costs could end up costing the country multiples of the proposed investment. The reactionary approach to the crisis also suggest that the GOJ did not anticipate the potential impact of the shortages, despite being forewarned about the possibility of CCCL not being able to meet the expected hike in demand. While Simpson-Miller has lost some support for her handling of the crisis, her political capital remains high. The real test will therefore arise when the administration is faced with the choice of re-imposing the tariff to appease CCCL or extending it to ward off political and possibly economic fallout. Already, Archer is warning of the possibility of street protests if the tariff is re-imposed. Archer said the protests could be as big as the 1979 gas riots which brought the then-PNP administration to its knees. This could provide the perfect platform for the JLP to exploit. End comment. JOHNSON