Newly elected US president Donald Trump is making news as expected, some of it indirectly involving the Dutch Caribbean. After the American head of state introduced a temporary entry ban for several predominantly Muslim countries, Foreign Affairs Minister of the Netherlands Bert Koenders informed the Parliament in The Hague that talks with Washington on setting up border and Customs controls at Schiphol Airport have been suspended.
St. Maarten’s Justice Minister and interim Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Rafael Boasman was subsequently asked during Government’s weekly press briefing what all this meant for plans to introduce US pre-clearance at Princess Juliana International Airport SXM. He replied that the latest developments had not been discussed in the Council of Ministers and there was no reason to stop the process.
He mentioned looking right now at an air marshal agreement and an assistance agreement, hoping to finalise the deal soon. The programme is important for the local economy, the Minister added.
While some might find that strange because it regards one kingdom, each country has its own Customs territory and admittance policy. There is even some room for differences in the visa requirements, although the idea is to keep them as uniform as possible.
So, by continuing efforts to establish US pre-clearance at SXM, St. Maarten is not doing anything wrong. Moreover, Aruba has had the programme successfully for years and certainly won’t entertain ending the arrangement.
The matter is simply too important for both islands to consider using it for political leverage. Especially because it regards two tourism destinations with North America as main source market, the livelihood of their people must have priority.
