Dear Editor,

I was in Jamaica over a week ago and noticed that many people have flourished from their ties with China and brought in products made in China. I noticed that a few sizable Chinese companies have arrived in Jamaica helping with construction at the university hospital and roads linking the airport and Kingston. I also visited farms and factories, and appreciated the current level of industrialisation.

People asked about China, expressing curiosity about the world’s second largest economy. What I did not see was the thousands of workers moving in and out of the Three Miles area. Some who have an interest to invest told me about the exorbitant rates of electricity and import duties. I have doubts whether the industrial parks in the various parts of Jamaica can take off.

Manufacturing, which can bring foreign-exchange earning jobs and import substitution activities, is a long-lost word in Jamaica. The island’s vibrant tourism industry and links with China, Cuba and certainly Caricom, represent opportunities for manufacturing in Jamaica. The Government of Jamaica must do the following:

* Negotiate for free trade agreement with the United States, Canada and the EU, fostering duty exemption for products made in Jamaica. The Caribbean Basin Initiative was a champion in the 80s, allowing Jamaican-made goods to enter into the United States of America with preferential duties.

* Encourage the hoteliers and cruise ship operators to buy “Made in Jamaica” products, for example, towels, juices and fruits in foreign exchange, and give full tax rebates to the manufacturers, thus lowering selling prices.

* Attract Chinese enterprises which can bring in machinery and know-how to the island, facilitating lower-cost parts made in China to be finally assembled in Jamaica; and give the manufacturers not just tax holidays but also duty-free access to the domestic and Caricom markets.

* Assist Jamaican manufacturers to promote Brand Jamaica in Asia and find themselves niche markets in China – a market with 1.3 billion consumers and where the currency renminbi or Yuan is appreciating at 4-5 per cent a year.

* Reactivate the HEART programme with funding from the EU, UN and USAID, and even export levies allowing young Jamaicans to be trained as a skilled workforce in a sustainable manner.

In reality, cheaper and cleaner sources of electricity will not arrive in Jamaica overnight. But consumers can benefit from products which come with lower taxes and LDP (landed duty paid) price if the Government of Jamaica can take that extra stride.

Lewis Leung

Prince Edward Road Management Co Ltd

Hong Kong, China

lewis_leung67@yahoo.com