KINGSTAN: The American Chambers of Commerce (AMCHAM) of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have teamed to promote trade and investments
In services between Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries and the United States through the 32-year-old Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).
The joint effort will utilise the foundation laid by Services of the Caribbean (SOCA), a regional effort which was launched in Washington, DC two years ago to switch CBI focus to the services sector.
AMCHAM Jamaica will host a public forum on the SOCA initiative at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.
The CBI originated in 1983 under former US President Ronald Reagan to promote economic development through private sector initiatives in Central American and Caribbean countries, focusing on the manufacturing sector.
It was expanded in 2000 to include the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act of 2000, which provides Customs duty-free entry to the United States on a permanent basis for a broad range of products from CBI- beneficiary countries.
The SOCA initiative was launched in Washington, DC, in 2013 with the aim of facilitating trade in services between the United States and regional countries under the CBI preference programme. It had the support of the Organization of American States (OAS) and United States Chamber of Commerce, but has not managed to change much of the focus since.
The new leadership of AMCHAM Jamaica says it has resumed working with AMCHAM Trinidad and Tobago to expand trade and investment in the services sector between both markets, under a refocused CBI/SOCA initiative.
AMCHAM Jamaica President Ron McKay says he is fully convinced that the services sector is the way to expand economic growth and jobs for Jamaica and its Caricom neighbours.
“We are urging the business communities and governments of the region to join in and support this effort,” McKay said.
AMCHAM Jamaica says that Caricom goods exported to the US in 2012 totalled US$12 billion, down from US$32 billion in 2005. At the same time, US goods exported to Caricom in 2012 were US$19 billion, down from US$40 billion in 2005. While neither country has reliable data for services trade, in 2012 Caricom exported US$9.6 billion in services to the world while importing US$6.6 billion, showing a clear competitive export edge for the region’s service sectors.
