Plaskett says USVI could’ve imposed fee on VI people travelling to STT to buy food
Under the new fee structure, which came into effect in June 2025, annual multi-night charter licenses that previously cost around $800 have now increased to $24,000 per vessel based outside of the VI. Annual day-trip licenses have risen from $200 to $8,500 per vessel, in addition to customary customs and immigration charges that can add another $900 to $1,200 or more for each entry.
According to Plaskett, who has been implicated in the Epstein files, there have been losses of about 800 jobs, particularly in the boating industry, due to vessels relocating to the Virgin Islands to benefit from lower taxes.
In an interview on Kyle & Redman Caribbean Currency Channel published on social media on July 22, 2026, Plaskett suggested that the fee hike could have been implemented gradually.
“I mean, I’ve had conversations with members of the of their parliament over there and they were like ‘oh you all are trying to sic the State Department and the president on us now’ and I was like ‘I I don’t want that to be the case but I also don’t think that it’s appropriate for you, whether it was 20 years or not, you can’t make up that time in one year.
“That should have been something that was gradual. Over time, we could absorb that.”
Retaliatory fees
Meanwhile, Plaskett said the VI would not have appreciated if the USVI had responded by imposing “a fee on individuals that are coming to Saint Thomas to buy food.
“You know, we can do retaliatory tariffs on one another, yes, and at the end of the day we’re all going to lose out. So, I think that the fee was way too much for a one-year period.”
Plaskett reiterated that the new fee structure introduced by the VI has really affected the USVI’s maritime industry. She said dialogue with the VI could be had, but asserted that the VI seems to want to go the hard way.
“I would think that we should sit down and see how we ratchet that down, but you know sometimes people don't like the carrot, they like the stick.”
See related article below:
VI Premier ‘displeased’ with USVI involving federal gov’t in maritime fees matter
VI doesn’t have $25B in federal funding ‘but we too have to eat’- USVI Governor
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40 Responses to “Plaskett says USVI could’ve imposed fee on VI people travelling to STT to buy food”
Trashy lady! No class at all!
15piece kfc through the roof
Moreover, Stacy Plaskett, USVI non-voting delegate to Congress and Primary candidate for Governor of the USVI went off the rail making perhaps a good political decision but a poor business business. She suggested imposing fees on Virgin Islands shoppers who shop in the USVI. Who will such a decision help , hurt, etc. Delegste Plaskett should have observed that the number of shoppers from the Virgin Islands have decreased. She shoukd also know that Virgin Islanders now have other choices. So she can cut off the nose to spite the face. Plaskett proposal will definitely hurt, not help USVI merchants
The USVi and VI have had close social, economic, familial, etc ties. So both governments should be able to sit, break bread, discuss, debate the issue and decide on a mutually beneficial agreement, can they not?
Gone are the days when we felt the need to shop for clothing over there. Online shopping has killed KMart, Rainbow and other stores.
We should stop celebrating USBI/BVI Friendship Day because the has has been cut and the snakes are visible.
I live in St Thomas and when I go to Tortola, I shop there. Shout out to RITE WAY and BOBBY'S.