Integration Also Imperative for Regional Businesses – PSOJ President

As Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders meet in Montego Bay to advance the region’s collaborative agenda, President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Metry Seaga has underscored the need for Caribbean businesses to also pursue integration.

Speaking at a Business Breakfast Forum hosted by the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) and the PSOJ at the Sandals Montego Bay Hotel on Tuesday (July 8), Mr. Seaga argued that in a world of shifting alliances and rising protectionism, Caribbean nations cannot afford to keep battling alone.

“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,” he said.

Mr. Seaga said that businesses must start seeing regional neighbours as partners, not just competitors.

“Whether it’s a Jamaican manufacturer keeping up with a Bajan distributor, or a St. Lucian tech firm building solutions with a Trinidadian developer… these are the kinds of linkages that drive regional value chains. We’ve seen it work in other trading blocks,” he pointed out.

The PSOJ President said the Jamaica business community fully supports the goals of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and is ready to step up to the plate.

“[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. And yes, it means modern infrastructure, logistics, energy, and technology that can support real growth,” he pointed out.

He further highlighted the need for action 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”.

“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,” Mr. Seaga declared.

He challenged the CARICOM Heads of Government to exercise bold leadership as they lead the way forward.

“[We need] policies that reduce the cost of doing business, that foster innovation and attract the kind of investment that builds jobs and exports. We don’t need more red tape. We need more action [and] practical, pragmatic decisions that will unlock our regional potential,” Mr. Seaga maintained.

The PSOJ President’s position was supported by Chairman of the CPSO, Gervase Warner, who said that cooperation and unity in the region is urgent.

He pointed to the United States’ America First policy, noting that it should be a wake-up call for the region.

As a result of the policy, the region experienced the threat of increased shipping costs.

Mr. Warner explained that through collective effort and dialogue that included more than 500 stakeholders from various Caribbean states, the region was able to avert the crisis, which would have resulted in shipping costs increasing by US$1,500 to $2,500 per container.

He noted that the example points to the new paradigm of collaboration that will be needed in the region going forward.

“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,” Mr. Warner said.

He added that members of the regional private sector can assist with the speed at which the shared vision for the CSME is implemented.