World Trade Organization: Jamaica’s Trade Policy Review, July 2024: UK Statement
Jamaica's WTO Trade Policy Review: UK Statement. Delivered by the UK's Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley.
Chair, let me start by offering a very warm welcome to Minister Johnson Smith and her delegation from Jamaica and let me also express my gratitude to colleagues both from Jamaica and from the WTO Secretariat for their respective reports, to you Chair, as ever, and to our very distinguished Discussant, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic, for his insightful comments, as ever.
And, as others have done, let me start by expressing my sorrow and solidarity with those who have been impacted by Hurricane Beryl right across the Caribbean, but of course in this particular instance to the people and the government of Jamaica, and in doing so let me echo the sentiments of my new Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, who said how much he was thinking of those who have lost loved ones, their homes and who remain without electricity.
Let me say that, just in the last week, as the Minister knows, the UK has increased support up to £500,000 for Caribbean countries most affected by the hurricane’s destruction. And of course, it is not only devastating in itself, it is a stark reminder of the climate emergency and our new UK government has made it clear that climate action is at the heart of our work and will remain at the heart of our work.
And turning to slightly less serious matters for a moment, of course this is not the only big event between Jamaica and the UK today. Indeed, at Lords, this morning we begin the first Test between England and the West Indies. As somebody who grew up watching England being regularly humiliated by the West Indies, I am hoping for a slightly more balanced match today, but we shall see.
Bilateral Trade and EPA
Now turning to proper matters. Since the last Trade Review the UK and Jamaica have had cause to celebrate some rather important milestones. Back in 2022, we celebrated 60 years of diplomatic relations, giving us cause to reflect upon our close and productive relationship, and an opportunity to ask ourselves how we can deepen that relationship further. Answering that question did not take too long. In December of last year, our Inaugural Ministerial Joint Council of the UK-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement took place, establishing how we will continue to deliver on that Agreement, and providing an opportunity to discuss some key market access barriers.
That Agreement has helped secure the UK and Jamaica’s bilateral trade. Jamaica’s successful implementation of the Agreement’s tariff liberalisation schedule creates opportunities for UK exporters, and Jamaican businesses and consumers alike. The administration of customs procedures in line with that Agreement is essential to ensure these benefits are realised for everybody.
The UK and Jamaica bilateral trade stood at almost 745 million US Dollars in total trade in goods and services last year; that is an impressive increase of 20%, or 125 million US Dollars, from the year before, and we of course hope that those figures will continue to grow.
Reports Analysis
Turning to the specifics of this Review, we deeply appreciate Jamaica’s engagement with the Advanced Written Questions which we submitted. They allow us to better understand Jamaica’s trade policies, in turn enabling us to improve our trading relationship even further. The same is true of the Reports, both by Jamaica and the WTO Secretariat.
Those Reports of course detail the significant impact of the COVID pandemic on Jamaica’s economy, as the Minister has done too. However, they also demonstrate many of Jamaica’s great strengths: modernising critical institutions, increasingly diverse exports, and continuing to develop in line with the Vision 2030 Jamaica blueprint. As the International Monetary Fund noted in its 2024 Article 4 Consultation, Jamaica has successfully reduced public debt, anchored inflation, and strengthened its external position – all achievements which we should be celebrating today.
UK Support Programmes
The UK is proud to support much of this admirable economic progress through trade related programmes. For instance, through the UK Trade Partnerships Programme, we have provided SMEs in the food, film and music sectors, for which Jamaica is renowned, with dedicated support to export to the UK.
We have also contributed 10 million US dollars to Compete Caribbean, a programme which supports businesses to become more productive and competitive in the global market. We have also put almost 70 million US Dollars into major agricultural projects in St Catherine, Clarendon and St Elizabeth through the UK Caribbean Infrastructure Fund, upgrading irrigation, roads and facilities to improve productivity and market access for Jamaican farmers.
WTO
The WTO Secretariat report underlines that Jamaica considers foreign trade a “national priority” to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. Rightly so. The Report rightly reflects the continued commitment which Jamaica has shown to free and open trade, and to the wider Multilateral Trading System. And the evidence suggests that these efforts are indeed not in vain: global trade is shown to play a significant role in the Jamaican economy success, with exports and imports of goods and services growing in value to 95% of GDP in 2022.
So, some specific examples of Jamaica’s activity in this house, as others have also referred to as well. On Agriculture, Jamaica is an active and constructive participant in WTO negotiations, a vocal advocate for Net Food Importing Developing Countries and plays an important role as the focal point for CARICOM members.
On Fisheries, as a Small Island Developing State, we acknowledge the importance that the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement has, not only for Jamaica but for the whole region, and we thank Jamaica for their on-going efforts and constructive dialogue. We will need these efforts now even more, to continue charting the choppy waters so that we can bring in the catch, and conclude Fisheries Two.
On services the UK was particularly grateful for the role Jamaica played in the delivery of the paragraph on services trade that was included in the MC13 Declaration, and which emphasizes the importance of services trade and commits Members to further work in the area.
Specifically on digital trade, Jamaica plays an active role in the Work Programme for Electronic Commerce, and was instrumental in helping to secure the extension of the crucial moratorium on customs duties for electronic commerce at MC13, and let me take this opportunity to welcome Jamaican Ambassador, Dr Richard Brown, who has been recently appointed, as others have said, as the Facilitator of the Work Programme.
And given Jamaica’s demonstrated interest in services and digital trade, we would really welcome Jamaica’s participation in the related plurilateral negotiations, whether they be on Services Domestic Regulation, Investment Facilitation for Development Initiative or the E-commerce Joint Initiative.
And as one of the lucky three co-chairs of the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender, I would like to welcome Jamaica’s commitment to its gender-inclusive trade agenda to support women’s participation in trade. Notably, through its 2022 National Investment Policy and the implementation of foreign trade policy initiatives such as the Women’s Entrepreneurship Support project established in 2017. I look forward to hearing more about Jamaica’s experiences and inclusion initiatives within our Informal Working Group.
So, in conclusion, let me thank yourself, Chair, our Discussant, Minister, her team, and I hope there will be less spin here, and much more bounce!