Rumours about restriction on used cars imports are false -PM

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Prime Minister Gaston Browne says rumors about placing a ban on imported vehicles more than ten years old are false.

Over the weekend he responded to the allegations which he said he also heard.

Browne said there have also been other rumors “with the car dealers saying that I have said certain things which are not necessarily true.”

The prime minister told radio listeners that his position on the used car issue has not changed.

He reiterated his position that government’s granting of reduced import duty and duty free for car imports “is a policy that is working for the ordinary Antiguan and Barbudan.”

Browne said he is not concerned about improving the quality of life of residents who by owning a car can drive to school or work.

He said however that the issue of road congestion must be looked into at some point.

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9 COMMENTS

  1. Ok gaston well u have a little heart …..but u need to start to put policies in place for poor people

  2. I’m all for the importation of a car, but I honestly do believe that there should be some form of restriction on the age and mileage that may be on a vehicle. With that, there should be an independent board to review a request for a vehicle that is outside of, for argument sake, a 5 year old vehicle, or over 60,000 miles.

    I’m thinking of it from an environmental point of view.

    • 60K an under is a very expensive vehicle from Japan. Do you know that all these Japanese vehicle meet a higher emissions the new vehicle sold here. Any vehicle 2014 or newer there aren’t much people I know who can afford that. Are you familiar APC cars. Any new car sold here. Within 5-7 years, the car is either faded or rusted. An a 20 year old car from Japan is in good condition.

      • You have failed to mention that as has been discovered elsewhere in the region there is a chance that the used vehicles coming out of Japan may have been exposed to radiation from the Tsunami in 2011 and will in turn expose people here to cancer causing radiation. Because of this Japan wants to get rid of the contaminated vehicles out of their country. Without a Geiger counter to check these vehicles we do not know what risk they are posing to the unsuspecting purchasers. The PM appears to be only concerned with selling gas.

        • Yes this is a concern, that is why all vehicles being exported from Japan are measured for radioactivity. The current limit is 0.3 microsieverts of radiation per hour.
          If you are truly concerned, I suggest you read this https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q10792.html

          There certainly is a risk but being informed allows you to evaluate if that risk is acceptable to you.

  3. Antigua should not allow the import of cars older than 3 years old. Car age is a major issue when it comes to safety, pollution and just generally making Antigua look nice.

    If we have old cars roaming around the island everywhere, we will end up looking like Haiti and Jamaica.

    • I think your being a bit harsh there the_real_rastaman.
      In terms of safety, while manufacturers are constantly improving the safety of the cars we drive, the recent gains are incremental. The major leaps were nearly 50 years ago with the introduction of seat belts which it seems the majority of Antiguans choose not to use, and collapsible steering columns which stops those not wearing the seat belt being impaled , instead suffering head injuries when hitting the windscreen.

      With pollution, the last change to Japanese pollution regulation for cars was 2005 as far as I know, perhaps there has been a recent incremental change, but we are reaching the limits of what can be done with an internal combustion engine. Electric vehicles would be fantastic, except the electricity is produced by dirty old tech oil burning generators, which are probably less efficient than the oi burning cars

      As far as making Antigua look nice, I think that is more a matter of removing the rusty battered, poorly maintained cars that are already here from the roads than restricting what can come in.

  4. AM I READING CORRECTLY.? HE IS NOT CONCERNED WITH IMPROVING THE LIVES OF RESIDENTS WHO BY VIRTUE OF HAVING A CAR CAN DRIVE THEMSELVES INSTEAD OF BEGGING A LIFT.
    I say CARPOOL!!

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