Agreements
Our strong diplomatic ties work in our clients’ favour!
Agreements
Jamaica benefits from numerous trade agreements. Over the years, they have encouraged the unrestricted flow of goods and services, reduced or eliminated quotas and tariffs, and have opened up worthwhile business opportunities in new markets.
Testimonials
Strong Global Linkages
Jamaica is a liberal open economy with strong trade agreements with numerous countries.
Jamaica is a member of the World Trade Organisation
Jamaica is a member of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), which allows for free trade among its fifteen full member countries.
The country enjoys multilateral trade and partnership agreements with North and South America, the Caribbean and Europe, which facilitates greater flow of goods and capital.
Jamaica benefits from the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) that affords reduced duties for products exported to Australia, Japan, Belarus, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and Russian Federation.
Economic Integration
- Products of Jamaican origin are not subjected to import duties in CARICOM member states.
- The union facilitates economic integration and trade coordination among the 15 member states and 5 associates.
- Accords immediate duty-free/quota-free access for CARIFORUM goods into the EU, except sugar.
- Enables Jamaican professionals to offer their services to the EU.
- Excludes sensitive products from liberalization. Such as agricultural and processed agricultural products; fisheries products, chemicals, furniture, various industrial goods, spirits, aerated beverages and fruit juices.
- Allows for the elimination of UK customs duties on all goods under chapters 1- 97, except for 93.
- CARIFORUM and the UK entered into an agreement in March 2019, pending Brexit, that provides UK market access.
- Guarantees duty free access to Canada for numerous products from Commonwealth Caribbean countries.
- Allows the duty-free exportation of goods, excluding textiles and apparel, footwear, luggage and handbags, leather garments, lubricating oils and methanol.
- Grants duty-free status to items that can be certified to have been grown, manufactured or produced in the Commonwealth-Caribbean.
- Allows apparel manufactured from U.S. yarns and fabric, as well as non-textile products excluded from earlier CBI legislation, to enter the U.S free of quota and duty.
- Guarantees duty free access to products wholly grown or produced in Jamaica with substantial transformation made to those sourced from third parties.
- Most products manufactured or grown in CBI beneficiary countries are eligible for duty-free entry into the United States, such as:
- Electronic and electro-mechanical assembly, handicrafts, giftware, wood products, recreational items, fresh and frozen seafood, tropical fruit products and winter vegetables, ethnic and specialty foods, such as sauces, spices, liqueurs and jams and medical and surgical supplies
- Offers Jamaicans the right to establish a business in another territory in the CSME unrestricted.
- Allows Jamaican goods that have already entered a CSME country to be eligible for export or import into another CSME territory without duty.
- Allows capital from Jamaica to be circulated freely in other CSME countries.
- Grants goods from Jamaica duty free access to Costa Rica, apart from a selected list of commodities which includes but is not limited to seafood, dairy products, citrus fruits and chocolate.
- Grants temporary duty-free admission to some goods, including professional equipment, equipment for press, broadcasting and cinematography, sporting goods for display and commercial samples.
- Qualifies goods that are wholly produced in Jamaica for duty free allowance, or those sourced from third parties with significant transformation done to them.
- Allows duty free access to specific commodities between Jamaica and Cuba e.g. agricultural products, cosmetics etc.
- Rules of origin apply to goods to be exported from Jamaica to Cuba, components not sourced from the country of origin should not exceed 50% of the F.O.B price of the final good.
- Allows duty free access of most goods traded between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic with some exceptions for agricultural goods, sauces, and other commodities.
- Grants duty free status to goods that are wholly produced in the country of origin
- Grants duty free status to goods that are sourced from third parties, once significant transformation is done so that it changes the product classification.
- Grants immediate duty-free access to select manufactured products between Jamaica and Colombia including cement, alumina, organic chemicals, paper and some steel products.
- Grants phased reduction on tariffs for the remaining manufactured products.
