Barbados, the most easterly of the Caribbean islands is 31/4 hours by plane from Miami, 41/4 hours from New York, 8 hours from London and 51/2 hours from Toronto. The climate is healthy, pleasant and tempered by an almost constant sea breeze of about ten miles per hour. The temperature rarely falls below 68°F (20°C) or rises above 88°F (31°C) and there are over 3,000 hours of sunshine annually.

Barbados, noted for its continuing political and economic stability and commitment to free enterprise, is an independent English -speaking country within the British Commonwealth. Its judicial, administrative and political systems are closely modeled on the British system of government.

Barbados has enjoyed representative government since 1639 and became an independent country in 1966. There are two houses of Parliament - the House of Assembly, the Lower House, which con-sists of twenty-eight members elected for a maximum period of five years and the Senate, which is the Upper House and consists of twenty-one nominated members.

The economy is based on private enterprise and the corporate investment laws are clear and moderns with no restrictions on foreign ownership of business enterprises.

The country's workforce is highly motivated and there is a 98% literacy rate in the country. This excellent educational achievement is based on compulsory school attendance to age 14 and tuition which is free from Primary through University level. The workers adapt easily to industrial discipline, take pride in themselves and their jobs and are extremely productive. Therefore, absenteeism and turnover rates are extremely low.

Business activities in Barbados can be both pleasant and rewarding. Bureaucratic requirements are kept to a minimum and the Government actively encourages foreign investment in the industrial sector.

Why Choose Barbados

Barbados is an ideal location to reduce costs, increase profits benefit from customs duty exemptions, and from convenient and preferred access to the United States, European, Canadian and Caribbean markets.

Because of its highly literate, productive, easily trainable, dexterous and English-speaking workers and its co-operative government, Barbados is home to many successful industrial operations.
The physical infrastructure is excellent. Electric power, roads, telephone telex, facsimile, airport and seaport facilities (including container handling equipment) are, for all practical purposes, equivalent to those in the industrialized countries.

Above all, Barbados provides economy of operation with savings of 30-50% on U.S. or Canadian costs. Compared to Asian or Central American assembly, many products can be landed in the USA or Europe from Barbados at equal or lower total costs.

International Market Access

Under the Lome Convention, a wide range of manufactured products can be imported into the European Economic Community from Barbados free of tariffs and quotas.

Similarly, thousands of products can be manufactured in Barbados and exported to the U.S.A. free of duty under the provisions of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) or the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Other United States imports from Barbados can also benefit from tariff concessions under section 806.30 and 807 of the Tariff Schedule of the U.S.A.

Products manufactured in Barbados can also enter Canada free of duty under the Canadian Government's CARIBCAN program.

Similar arrangements are available with Venezuela in South America and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Information Technology Services

Business in the 90's demands easy access to accurate, up-to-date and cost effective information. A Barbados based facility can enhance your competitive edge in this area.

Barbados offers high accuracy levels, low operating costs, confidentiality and quick turnaround. Document transfer options include overnight mail, fax, magnetic tape and high speed data links.

Our trained work force offers the skills necessary for:

Health insurance claims processing

Transaction processing services

Software development

Computer aided design

Database management

Litigation support services 

Inbound and outbound telemarketing 

Data entry and fulfillment 

International Financial Services

Barbados has, over the last fifteen years, successfully established itself as a reputable international financial services center. It has developed a network of double taxation treaties and domestic tax and companies legislation which now facilitate a vibrant and thriving industry.  Specific legislation has been enacted to provide incentives for:

Offshore Banks

Exempt (Captive) Insurance Companies

International Business Companies

Foreign Sales Corporations

Ship Registration and Shipping Activities

Full tax exemption for U.S. Foreign Sales Corporations

Full tax exemption for "captive insurance Companies

Tax rate of 1 to 2.5% on profits of investment companies

Tax rate of only 2.5% for international business companies

Tax rate of only 2.5% on profits of information technology service companies

The American market remains the major target for manufacturers in Barbados and this hospitable Caribbean island offers every advantage for serving that market - low operational costs, lower freight costs, close proximity to the market and duty-free access to the market.

Low Tariffs

Under the provisions of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), products made in Barbados are given complete duty-free entry into the U.S. market provided that at least 35% of the product's appraised value originated in Barbados. This Barbadian origin requirement can be reduced to 20% if not less than 15% of the product value is represented by United States or Puerto Rican content.

Duty exemptions are also available for products manufactured/ assembled in Barbados and shipped to Canada under the country's CARIBBEAN program in this case, at least 60% of the ex-factory price of the product must originate in Barbados, another Commonwealth Caribbean country, or Canada. Thus Barbadian input can be very low and the product still qualify for duty free entry if the Canadian raw material input is very high.

In addition, under items 806.30 and 807 of the U.S tariff articles and components which originate in the U.S. and are shipped to Barbados for processing or assembly, may be re-imported to the United States, with tariffs assessed only on the value added during processing or assembly in Barbados. 

Rapid Access

Five times weekly, British Airways flies from Barbados to London. There are also three flights weekly from London to Barbados on BWIA and one flight weekly to Munich, Frankfurt and Zurich. Thus there are excellent airline services between Barbados and Europe for both passengers and freight.

Barbados External Telecommunications Ltd. (BET) facilitates speedy contact with the rest of the world. Its satellite earth station makes it easy to communicate by telephone or facsimile to all corners of the globe. A direct-dialed three minute call to New York, Toronto, Chicago or London is relatively inexpensive.

Regular ocean freight service between Europe and Barbados is provided by Geest, Booth and Carib Lines together with the Carol International Consortium, Harrison Line of Britain, Hapag-Lloyd of West Germany and CGM of France.

Easy Travel

Sales and manufacturing liaison is facilitated by daily flights from Barbados to New York, Toronto, Miami and Puerto Rico. In fact, Miami is closer to Barbados than it is to Chicago or Dallas; New York is closer to Barbados than to Phoenix; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, is closer to Barbados than to anywhere in the continental United States. You can even leave Barbados on an early afternoon flight and be in San Francisco or Los Angeles before midnight. Toronto is only 51/2 hours away by regular scheduled flights
Selling to Europe.

European markets are of growing importance and manufacturers in Barbados have found that their low operational costs are complemented by a special advantage - DUTY-FREE ACCESS TO THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY.

The Lome Convention

Under the terms of the Lome Convention, companies manufacturing in Barbados are able to ship most of their products to EEC member countries and/or their "Overseas Departments" without paying duties.

This trade and industrial co-operation agreement between certain African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries and the EEC was originally signed in February 1975 and there have been successive renewals in 1979, 1984, and 1989.

There are certain country of origin requirements to be met but a number of firms operating in Barbados are satisfying the requirements and achieving tariff savings of 5, 10, 15% or more depending on their product.

Although many African and Caribbean nations and a few in the Pacific are also beneficiaries under Lome, none of the Asian or Central American countries are parties to this agreement.