Thanks to Minister of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke, many of us are now aware of the floating currency status the Jamaica dollar holds. Unfortunately, the instability that accompanies this status may very well account for the trade deficit Jamaica has with its smaller regional partners.

Take, for example, Trinidad and Tobago, which has enjoyed a trade surplus — US$11.8 billion in contrast to Jamaica’s US$412.5 million — for almost three decades. It would be easy to assume that our regional counterparts do not value our goods as much as we do theirs, but it might be important to note that other regions have also experienced a similar situation before consolidating their currency.

In 1991 plans were underway for a single currency within the European Union (EU), and by 1999 the euro was born with the ambitious goal of improving the socio-economic landscape of the region by ensuring that member states could not participate in the competitive devaluation of their currency, among other things.

Tourism is one of the major industries that attract foreign investment within the Caribbean. This has caused a country like Jamaica to actively reduce the value of its currency to gain a competitive advantage over other Caribbean nations — investors prefer investments that lead to the greatest possible profit.

A single currency at the regional level would remove this sort of predatory behaviour practised by prospective investors. Yes, this is not without its own challenges. For one, investors will now have to use metrics other than profits to determine where to invest. But, if we are being honest, does Jamaica really need another hotel or call centre?

Adjustments to the ways in which Caribbean countries receive foreign investment may not be the only benefit to be had from having a single currency. There is also a high probability that intra-community trade and investment could also increase.

Anyone who has been to other Caribbean countries, whether to live or just visit, would recognise how the value of goods and services differ significantly. There is also the added burden of having to trade your currency to other forms, like the US dollar or euro, before exchanging for the currency of the nation you are visiting. In both cases value is lost.

Alternatively, at the local level, Jamaica could introduce a new currency — one floating, the other fixed. The latter could be used to store the true value of our economy, while the other can remain as a means of attracting continued foreign investment.

One major issue with Jamaica continuing to use the US dollar as its only means of trade lies within its fiat status. In 1971 US President Richard Nixon decided to decouple the US dollar from gold, making it essentially a fiat currency. This move meant that the US dollar no longer had an intrinsic value; the value of the currency was now the value the Government assigned to it.

For many years countries like Russia, Iran, and Iraq have all shared the position that the US uses its currency to impose crippling economic sanctions on them. This has led to proposals for alternatives to the US dollar as a means of trade.

China has recently decided to implement the Petro-yuan as a trade alternative to the US dollar trade for oil in its negotiations with countries that are currently being sanctioned by the US, which makes it difficult for them to trade using the US dollar.

Federico Pieraccino, of the Strategic Culture Foundation, has stated that, while he believes the Petro-yuan could serve as an alternative, he does not believe it will happen any time soon. He posited that “all superpowers eventually lose their privileged status of being the world’s reserve currency. It’s inevitable and history proves it”. It should be noted that steps towards ending the US dollar as the international standard is nothing new.

In the 1990s Muammar Gaddafi of Libya had proposed that the African Union (AU) create its own currency that would rival the US dollar and euro — this after sanctions were imposed on his country by the United Nations in the said decade. For many years before the sanctions Libya had a higher gross domestic product (GDP) per capita than the United States and the European Union. Sanctions resulted in a decrease in GDP, which is still seen today.

So what about a cryptocurrency? After all, no regional or, for that matter, global discourse about money should take place without acknowledging the reach of digital currencies.

When asked about how easy it would be to transition from a marketplace that is dominated by the US dollar, Pieraccino explained that it would not be an easy task since the banking and financial sector is dominated by the currency. He concluded the point by stating: “Moving to a new world currency would be more challenging for countries under US pressure.” But would a new global currency be the solution to the current economic challenges faced by some nations? Pieraccino does not think so: “The only future is a decentralised cryptocurrency backed by physical gold. Any other solution would just perpetuate the current problems we face with inflation and quantitative easing.”

As a global community, we may not yet be in a position to have a decentralised digital currency, but what we can do is demand alternatives to the status quo. The poor and working class should not continue to struggle to purchase food and cover other basic living expenses just so our leaders are given opportunities to take pictures with oligarchs while cutting red ribbons.

The continued devaluation of the Jamaican dollar does not affect the privileged class. In fact, many of them benefit through their wealth stored in foreign currencies. And, while classed people may join us in questioning how the cost of lettuce has increased from $50 to over $300 within a week, they will still cross it from their receipts later that day when putting the items they have purchased away.

Reiya Lawrence is a human rights, youth rights, and environmental rights supporter.