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The National Energy Corporation (NEC)-a wholly owned subsidiary of The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (NGC), which holds a virtual monopoly over tugboat services at key ports including Point Lisas, has issued a board mandate requiring local shipping agents to pay for towage services exclusively in US dollars.
This policy overturns a long-standing practice of facilitating payments in TT dollars.
While aimed at bolstering NEC’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves, some shipping agents believe this unilateral decision imposes severe operational and cash flow burdens on local agents, threatens to increase trade friction by forcing importers to pay in US currency, and establishes a dangerous precedent for other state-controlled port service providers.
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