Local Businesses Urged to Take Advantage of Opportunities Under CARIFORUM-UK EPA

• Local businesses are encouraged to take advantage of opportunities under the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), designed to open up and enhance trade between the UK and signatory CARIFORUM States. This is a reciprocal trade and development partnership that facilitates duty-free, quota-free access for CARIFORUM exports, among other things.
• Minister of Industry, Investment, and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, has encouraged local businesses to leverage the opportunities available under the EPA to enable them to access the large retail sales market of the UK, valued at £496 billion.
• Total trade between Jamaica and the UK was £397 million at the end of the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 43.3% over 2021. UK imports from Jamaica were £304 million, of which £44 million (14.5%) were goods and £260 million (85.5%) were serviced. The UK’s exports to Jamaica were £93 million, of which £46 million (49.5%) were goods, and £47 million (50.5%) were services.
• Considering the difficulties Jamaica’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have faced to enter the international market, the EPA can be of assistance.
• The CARIFORUM-UK EPA, which came into effect in January 2021, is working to permanently remove trade barriers between the UK and the Caribbean such as allowing duty-free access. This will reduce the costs for MSMEs in Jamaica to penetrate UK markets and allow them to have a competitive advantage to grow their businesses.

(Source: JIS News)