Opportunities available in free trade... Donna Ortega, news editor Exporters got an insight into issues of free trade and United States trade policy and what they mean for Jamaica from international trade lawyer Alan Dunn on Wednesday. Mr. Dunn, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce, was brought to the island with the assistance of the U.S. Embassy at the request of Jamaican businesspersons seeking to boost their exports and promote the viability of their local manufacturing enterprises. In an address to the Jamaica Exporters Association National Export Week luncheon at Le Meridien Jamaica Pegasus, he said the trade agenda meant opportunities for greater access to U.S. and other markets but warned of greater competition at home and abroad. "It may be difficult for Jamaica to deal with producers in more countries and more concentrated industries in other countries," he said. In regard to market access and tariff reduction and quota issues, he said these were controversial but suggested that there was "space for elimination of textile quota limitations" - a bone of contention for the Jamaican industry. He advised the exporters to consider all the implications of the trade issues and "what access you buy with what access you give". Summing up U.S. trade policy, he said that there was strong commitment to free trade and strong commitment to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). "Where bilateral agreements are helpful economically or politically they will be pursued," he said, as he observed that "Trade has become a diplomatic touchstone on par with geopolitical/security issues." Mr. Dunn told exporters that U.S. President George Bush was a "committed free trader but a political realist". His position was that free trade was more than open markets - it is economic freedom which serves as an important vector of democratic liberty. Free trade was necessary for economic growth and poverty reduction. However, President Bush's political realism was seen in two recent examples - the US Steel Industry Section 201 and the EU-US Banana Settlement. The U.S. trade agenda included: Trade Promotion Authority or Fast Track and the Crane Bill had been introduced last week in this regard; the FTAA to forge free trade with all hemispheric nations; Bilateral Trade Agree-ments such as those with Jordan, Chile, Vietnam and Singapore; and the WTO particularly the launch of a new round of global trade negotiations to include important issues "that had been missing". Mr. Dunn observed, however, that the FTAA "has a higher priority" a "better head start" than in maintaining a new round of WTO agreements. President Bush is supporting the launch of a new round to emphasise a key role for agriculture, maintain rules agreements, market access and services. JEA President Beverly Lopez, in a follow-up interview, said that what Mr. Dunn "had said was very reassuring in terms of linking trade to very basic human rights and democracy. I think it was a very interesting position." She also agreed that with regard to trade negotiations and agreements, exporters, "need to understand and know what to give for what we want to get". "It is very critical that our exporters understand all that is happening and are able to put their positions forward to the (Foreign Trade) Ministry so that we can get what we want," she said.
|
