The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) hosted a Business Breakfast Forum on Tuesday, July 8, at the Sandals Montego Bay Hotel. The forum addressed the importance of regional integration for Caribbean businesses.
Call to Action
PSOJ President Metry Seaga stated that regional integration is now a necessity for businesses to secure jobs and a better quality of life for future generations. He declared,
Our success, indeed our survival, depends on how well we work together. Regional integration isn’t just a lofty ideal anymore, it is a necessity… and not just for governments but for businesses too, for jobs and for the quality of life that we all want to secure for future generations.
Seaga illustrated the need for harmonized regulation and efficient customs systems by stating, "[This] means harmonised regulation. It means clearing the bottlenecks at the ports. It means a customs system that’s efficient and digital, not slow and paper-based." He further emphasized the need for modern infrastructure, logistics, energy, and technology to support growth.
Seaga urged attendees to "tear down the non-tariff barriers that make trade between the islands harder than it is to trade with countries that are thousands of miles away." He added, "Let us simplify the protocols. Let’s make it easier to do business across our respective borders. We have the talent, the creativity, and the natural resources, and with the right framework we can finally compete on a global scale."
Private Sector’s Role
CPSO Chairman Gervase Warner supported Seaga's position. Warner asserted that the private sector is complicit in creating some trade barriers, and, as such, has a role in removing them. Warner stated,
The private sector, we have a role to play. Some of the issues we have around trading, we are complicit in. A lot of barriers, whether through duties or non-tariff barriers, we have helped to erect ourselves, and we have a role in removing those non-tariff barriers and speaking up. We, collectively, must be making the arguments to our governments, giving them the confidence and the power to proceed and get this done.
Seaga stated that regional neighbors should be viewed as partners. He cited the need for policies that foster innovation and attract investment to build jobs and exports. "We don’t need more red tape," he explained, "We need more action [and] practical, pragmatic decisions that will unlock our regional potential."
The Jamaican business community supports the goals of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
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