31st January 2012
Earl Bousquet To Apologize

The Editor,
It is unfortunate that a writer of the experience and seniority of an Earl Bousquet should find it necessary to distort truth as he did in the recent article in the VOICE Newspaper “What China Syndrome” to make his point, Mr. Bousquet states and I quote
“The St. Lucia Manufacturers Association has argued against restoring ties with China, which it blames for the presence here of Chinese persons doing business. The general claim is that St. Lucia will be better off with Taiwan than China and local small businesses and manufacturers would do better without Chinese-owned businesses operating here.
At no time have I ever made any such comments in any newspaper or interview that I have given, nor to the best of my knowledge have any of my predecessors articulated this view. Unless Mr. Bousquet can produce contrary evidence I would hope that he is a big enough man with a sufficient concern for his reputation to apologize to the St. Lucia Manufacturers Association, an all public media.
Neither I nor the Association which I represent are involved in the decision making as to which of the two Chinas St. Lucia should affiliate with, but I do know that I am for what I perceive as best for the people of this country.
We know all about trade agreements and the WTO, yet countries all over the world are using tools to protect their local companies.
I quote from the Global News “Government Protection Makes Marketers Job Harder in China”
“China is a key market for multinational but it is also a challenging and confusing place to do business especially because the Chinese Government is eager to protect local companies in key areas”