Trade Information Portal to Go Live in May

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the Jamaica Trade Information Portal is expected to go live in May.

Mr. Shaw made the announcement at the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) second regional Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Caribbean Conference 2019 on April 17, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

He said the Jamaica Trade Information Portal will incrementally make business easier for exporters and importers.

“The portal will bring export and import-related regulatory information and step-by-step guidance on a single platform to allow traders, investors and consumers a smoother interface with the regulatory and procedural steps needed to facilitate their businesses, ultimately driving our collective economic growth,” Mr. Shaw added.

The Jamaica Trade Information Portal project was launched on October 4 last year during a joint ceremony of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries.

It will provide Jamaican export and import businesses with the commercial responsiveness and agility they need to become more competitive in the global market.

With this portal, Jamaica will have a single authoritative trade information source for businesses to easily access information they need and when they need. It will be managed by the Trade Board Limited (TBL).

Meanwhile, Mr. Shaw spoke of the removal of specific permits and licences that are currently being issued by the TBL.

“Through the Trade Facilitation Task Force’s efforts to gradually reduce the unnecessary and burdensome red tape associated with regulatory compliance in the trading environment, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries has received the green light from the Cabinet for the removal of specific permits and licences currently being issued by the Trade Board Limited, which are no longer relevant,” Mr. Shaw said.

“While this is being done within the context of Jamaica’s commitment under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement to reduce the overall time and cost to trade and create a more agile business and trading environment, the benefits that will be derived from the removal of these irrelevant permit applications position our investors and producers on the tarmac for take-off, and complements well our other initiatives, such as the Jamaica Trade Information Portal,” the Minister said.