After a decade and a half of absorbing billions from selling the state inflated-priced steel products they are lamenting that their inflated profit margin is too slim to stay in business in T&T.
This company has no honour or no shame.
Closure of this company is hardly sudden unless the regulated industries regulators are again asleep at the wheel as they were in late 2000 when Clico folded and filed bankruptcy to their astonishment. I’m surprised Government isn’t talking about giving ArcelorMittal taxpayers’ money to bail them out like Clico.
Greed to control profits in the steel manufacturing market is the real cause.
Government can easily zero-rate importation of iron and steel to zero per cent duty and VAT in this time of national building material crisis.
Or government can recognise alternative building materials such as industrial hemp and industrial Polystyrene.
If the Government takes over this company, how much debt would it be accepting to run it?
Where would they get the money? Would they borrow from the IDB or IMF?
How much royalties would ArcelorMittal expect Government to pay them for this iron and steel franchise?
Or would the arrangement be a produce or pay contract, meaning government must produce and sell a fixed amount of refinery product and irrespective of producing and selling, pay ArcelorMittal for rights to operate their plant.
Government should borrow from the IDB or world bank or IMF to bailout this steel company as it’s too big to fail, just like Clico was too big to fail and got bailed out.
T&T nation’s would gladly shoulder this debt as they’ve shouldered Clico’s debt.
B Joseph
