New Global Landscape Requires a Regulatory Structure…Says PM Golding

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding is of the view that the new global landscape challenging countries like Jamaica require a regulatory structure. He says markets have proven that they are not capable of regulating themselves and that systems need to be put in place to ensure effective functioning.
Referring to the recent incident with the export of Jamaican patties to Trinidad, Mr Golding said the only way we can remove these tools that are used to counter the effect of tariff liberalisation, is to get to a stage where we have standards that are accepted and cannot be challenged and which will assist in the smooth flow of goods throughout the market.
“This is where accreditation comes in. If world trade is to function effectively to support economic growth, we need these agreed standards and the mechanisms to certify and to assure our traders. We have to have a network of laboratories that are respected and that command confidence in what they say. This is what this launch is all about, hence the need for a laboratory such as the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC)”, he said.
He said the current global crisis demonstrated that markets cannot be left to their own destructive design and that there need to be systems in place to ensure that activities are conducted transparently and that the odds are not stacked against particular players.
Speaking this morning (June 9) at the launch of the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston, Mr. Golding said, “…We have had to confront a number of barriers that represent serious impediments to economic growth. One of these barriers has to do with the application of standards. Markets need a frame of reference if we are to ensure that the goods being traded have standards that are universally agreed on; that they represent a quality commensurate with the price we pay.”
Minister of Industry, investment and Commerce, Hon. Karl Samuda in his remarks said the establishment of JANAAC would help to make Jamaican goods internationally accepted so that we can demand our rightful place in the international trade community. JANAAC is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce designed to provide accreditation services to Assessment Bodies such as laboratories, certification and inspection bodies. It will facilitate trade between Jamaica and its trading partners. The establishment of this agency means that Jamaica will no longer have to look overseas for an accreditation body.