Black Immigrant Daily News

The American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (AMCHAM Jamaica), participated in federal hearings before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in Washington DC last Thursday, as the USITC begins their periodic review of the duty-free access of goods from Jamaica and the region to the United States.

AMCHAM Jamaica CEO, Jodi-Ann Quarrie, represented the Chamber at the hearings on March 9, 2023, where she gave oral testimony defending Jamaica’s use of the duty-free regime. She also answered questions about potential impediments for Jamaican businesses as the USITC reviews the economic impact of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and related programmes, more commonly known in Jamaica as the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). These programmes allow for duty-free imports from designated countries including Jamaica.

After the hearings, Quarrie said, “We must ensure that a clear market for Jamaican goods in the United States continues to be maintained. We value this platform to express our perspectives and share valuable insights with the USITC regarding the economic impact of the programmes on Jamaica and the Caribbean region.”

Among the issues discussed were regulatory costs, the difficulty in securing inspections, the insecurity concerning the iterative process of U.S. trade law renewals, female participation in the labor force, and the impact of the Jamaican diaspora.

President of AMCHAM Jamaica, Ann-Dawn Young Sang, emphasized the importance of representing the Jamaican business community in these hearings. “The revenues from exports to the US constitute a large part of Jamaica’s foreign exchange earnings. It is therefore crucial that the members of the Chamber are able to be represented and that solutions are put forward for the improvement of the CBI program. Because of our close working relationship with the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC, AMCHAM Jamaica is sensitive to the need to continue this partnership between the United States and Jamaica to build strong economies, strengthen ties, and to contribute to the recovery of Jamaican businesses post-Covid.”

AMCHAM Jamaica was the only Jamaican representative at the hearings. Other participants included Zulfikar Ally, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Guyana, and Industry association representatives from Haiti, and Antigua and Barbuda among others.

The decision on the future of the CBI will take into consideration how Jamaica has utilized the programme, and the report on the findings of the USITC is expected to be completed in September 2023. AMCHAM Jamaica will continue to advocate for the continuation of the regime in the best interests of the Jamaican business community.

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

The head of the United Nations called Monday for scientists to serve up “cold, hard facts” to push governments into making policies that curb climate change before a key global warming threshold is passed.

His comments came as experts and officials from around the world gathered for a week-long meeting in the Swiss Alpine town of Interlaken to finalize the last of seven reports issued by the global body’s panel of top scientists since the Paris climate accordwas forged in 2015.

In a video address to delegates, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change “could not come at a more pivotal time.”

“Our world is at a crossroads — and our planet is in the crosshairs,” he said. “We are nearing the point of no return; of overshooting the internationally agreed limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) of global warming.”

That threshold, agreed in Paris almost eight years ago and measured against average temperatures during pre-industrial times, has become the yardstick for climate scientists who warn of the dangers of an ever hotter planet.

Guterres cited recent IPCC reports showing that while some impacts of global warming are already unavoidable, “it is possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees with rapid and deep emissions reductions across all sectors of the global economy.”

Some scientists disagree, noting that the rate at which greenhouse gas is being pumped into the atmosphere makes this limit almost impossible to keep to.

The U.N. chief said the final installment in the IPCC’s sixth reporting cycle — known as the synthesis report because it brings together insights from six previous papers — should provide governments with “solid, frank, detailed scientific guidance to make the right decisions for people and planet” when they gather for the annual world climate conference in Dubai at the end of the year.

Guterres stressed that speeding up the phase-out of fossil fuels is “tough but essential.”

“Show the urgent need to end global heating with cold, hard facts,” he told delegates.

NewsAmericasNow.com