Jamaica’s ultimate success as an economy will be heavily influenced by our ability to successfully integrate ourselves into the global value chain. In turn, this will demand that we continuously improve our trade infrastructure. Along with using our indigenous inputs both tangible and intangible, we must also efficiently import other inputs, add value and efficiently export the finished products to satisfy consumers world-wide.

We have not always succeeded: for too many years we have recorded only middling levels of performance with respect to the standards of efficiency that are required to make us a competitive investment location. Changing this metric is something that has long been desired.

It is my view that we are finally making the break-through. We still have quite some distance to go, and we can be assured that even as we move higher and higher in the world’s competitive indices, other nations are not themselves standing still. They too have, by and large, seen the advantages to be gained by transforming their processes to better facilitate business activity. Jamaica’s task is to ensure that it continues to create, at rates superior to our competition in providing and enabling infrastructure.

At the forefront of this task is the Customs service. There is no question that there is a renewed energy in the Jamaica Customs Agency and that the various Ministries of government whose policies and regulations are crucial to the Agency’s performance now realize that the efficiency of our border processes can enhance or foil business and consumer interests – and in turn, support or discourage economic growth. Recent initiatives – and the introduction of ASYCUDA World is but one of these – attest to the conviction that our processes have been changing.

Customs Week is a timely occasion to salute the work of the many committed officers of the Jamaica Customs Agency and to charge them with continuing to work assiduously towards constant improvement.

The successful execution of your mandate will play no small part in the economic success of our nation.

Warren McDonald, JP

Chairman, Advisory Board,

Jamaica Customs Agency &

President, Jamaica

Chamber of Commerce