Shaw Launches New Trade Information Portal

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw (3rd left), along with (from left) Trade Administrator, The Trade Board Limited (TBL), Douglas Webster; Chief Information Officer, TBL, Carl Morgan; Principal Investment Officer & Head, English-Speaking Caribbean, International Finance Corporation, Judith Green; Programme Manager, Trade Facilitation Secretariat, Sharifa Powell; Team Leader, Jamaica Trade Information Portal Implementation Project, Trevor O’Regan; at the launch of the Jamaica Trade Information Portal (JTIP) , at the Terra Nova Hotel on Thursday, May 16, 2019. The JTIP is being developed through support from the World Bank Group. The launch signals Jamaica’s improved readiness for trade, and will ensure that the requisite information is easily accessible by all, which will make it easier and more efficient to conduct the business of trade.

The business community will now have quick access to the country’s trade rules with the launch of the Jamaica Trade Information Portal (JTIP), the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean, by Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, the Hon Audley Shaw.
The portal, which aims to improve trade facilitation and generate more trade and investment, is a one-stop shop for information on import-export regulations and procedures and will be hosted by the Trade Board Limited.
Speaking at the launch held at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston today (May 16), Minister Shaw said, “With the Trade Information Portal, Jamaica will have a single authoritative trade information source for businesses to easily access the information they need at any time.”
The portal, Minister Shaw said, 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. This, he stated, will ultimately drive Jamaica’s collective economic growth
The Minister further explained that JTIP also represents Jamaica’s efforts to fulfil its commitment to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement, under Article I - which speaks to making information available through the Internet.
The JTIP forms part of the wider trade facilitation initiatives of the government to include the Jamaica Electronic Single Window (ESW) for Trade being implemented by the Jamaica Customs Agency in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.
Under the ESW, approximately 20 border agencies will be integrated into a single platform to include the Trade Board Limited which has already commenced. Other key MICAF agencies to be integrated into the ESW are the Plant Quarantine Division, the Veterinary Services Division, and the National Compliance Regulatory Authority.
The JTIP project is supported by the Trade Facilitation Programme managed by the World Bank Group and funded by eight donor countries, namely Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom and the European Commission.
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