Exporters Urged to Make Use of Preferential Trade Agreements

  • Local businesses are encouraged to utilize the various trade agreements that are available under preferential terms to boost earnings and increase exports for the country.
  • Industry, Investment, and Commerce Minister, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, in making the call, said that these agreements give local producers a competitive advantage in accessing regional and international markets. He encouraged businesses to study the many trade agreements to grow the country’s export exponentially and increase employment.
  • Jamaica is a party to or beneficiary of arrangements, which enable local businesses to access international markets under preferential terms. Among these is the CARIFORUM/European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which enables the export of goods and services to the 28 countries of the EU. All goods from Jamaica enter the EU duty- and quota-free.
  • There are also CARICOM bilateral agreements that give Jamaica duty-free entry for a wide range of goods to markets in Venezuela, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Cuba, and the country is able to supply goods to Venezuela through specific terms and conditions under the PetroCaribe Trade compensation mechanism.
  • Minister Hill said the Trade Board Limited and the Ministry’s affiliated agencies are working to increase public awareness about the use and benefits of trade agreements, as well as to understand those factors that impact exporters’ ability to access or understand the information related to market entry requirements, or how to meet them.
  • He highlighted that the Step-Up Export with Trade Agreements seminar serves as a public awareness tool that is intended to support export-led growth. Organized by the Trade Board, the event aimed to highlight the results of a one-year project in which 100 exporters were trained. The project explored the qualifying criteria under nine trade agreements as a means of increasing the uptake of the benefits. This will ultimately contribute to the volume of locally manufactured or produced items that are exported.

(Source: JIS News)