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 Favorable
Tax and Trade Treaties
The Netherlands Antilles benefits from a number of preferential trade
arrangements within the Council Decision of the Association of the
Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) with the European Community.
The Directorate of Economic Affairs plans to promote services under
this arrangement, which offers preferential treatment to the Netherlands
Antilles with respect to originating product, accumulation of value
added, derogation and transshipment (under negotiation).
The Netherlands Antilles also benefits from the unilateral preferential
tariff treatment granted by the United States to 24 "beneficiary
countries" qualifying under the 1983 Caribbean Basin Initiative
(CBI) and under the 1990 Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Expansion
Act (CBI II), which was given new impetus with the Caribbean Basin
Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), effective since October 2000.
.An important provision of the CBI II is the permanent extension of
the duty free treatment of most goods produced in a CBI country upon
entering the US market if the product fulfills the following criteria:
 |
It is imported directly from Curaçao
into US customs territory |
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It meets the 35 percent local value added
requirement - only direct processing costs in one or more CBI
countries are considered to be value added. US origin materials
may be counted towards 15 percent of the 35 percent. |
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It conforms to the substantial transformation
requirement, i.e. the final product should be new and different
from the foreign materials used in its manufacture. |
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If components used in the processing in
Curaçao are of 100 percent US origin, then requirement
2 and 3 will be omitted (for items other than textiles, oil
and oil products). |
Under the new Trade and Development Act passed in January 2000, apparel
articles now can enter the US market free of duty without quantitative
restrictions. Duty/quota-free treatment is also available for certain
knit apparel made in CBTPA beneficiary countries from fabrics formed
in the Caribbean Basin region, provided that U.S. yarns are used in
forming the fabric. New duty/quota free treatment will also be available
for apparel made in the CBI from fabrics determined to be in "short
supply" in the United States, and for designated "hand-loomed,
handmade, or folklore" articles. |
