Govt. committed to strengthening of Jamaica’s National Quality Infrastructure – Minister Shaw

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the Government is committed to the strengthening of Jamaica’s National Quality Infrastructure.

Minister Shaw pointed to the National Quality Policy 2017, which he said affirms the Government’s commitment to strengthening the national framework for the development of a sustainable “standard-led, market driven economy”, supported by a culture of quality to achieve global competitiveness and consumer protection.

“As Government, we must create an enabling environment to support increased compliance with international quality standards. This is critical to ensuring that our products and services are compliant with and meet the requirements of exports to international markets”, Minister Shaw said.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT) General Assembly at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa, Montego Bay, on April 16.

Noting that Jamaica is signatory to the World Trade (WTO) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement, the Minister said Jamaica is well aware of the fact that failure to comply with the WTO Agreements on technical barriers to trade, including sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures can constitute a technical barrier to trade with our international partners.

“As in the case of other countries, successful trading across borders is of critical importance to the prosperity of our people, not only in our own country, but in the region and worldwide. Therefore, adherence to global standards must be our focus and priority as this is paramount in today’s world of trade”, the Minister stressed.

He further added that with Jamaica’s membership in COPANT and our strategic alliance with other standards development organizations such as the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standard and Quality (CROSQ), International Organisation for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrical-technical Commission (IEC), ASTM International, permits us to influence the development and content of regional and international standards.

“This will certainly enhance our position in the global marketplace”, he said.

The Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ), an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, has been facilitating the development and adoption of standards to meet market needs and requirements to effectively compete and trade globally. During the period April 2017 to March 2018, the Bureau facilitated the publication of 125 standards that address the needs of industry, regulators, consumers and other stakeholder groups. Fifty-four per cent of these published standards were adoptions of regional and international standards.

The 2018 Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT) General Assembly is being held under the themes ‘One Voice – Regionally Standardized, Globally Harmonized’ with focus on strategizing ways in which the region can improve standards development, through collaboration and consensus, to successfully compete globally.

More than 30 representatives from COPANT member countries and other quality and standards organisations from across the world are in attendance.
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