The American Chamber of Commerce in Jamaica (AmCham Jamaica) has refocused its efforts on providing the level of business advocacy it offered its members pre-pandemic, zeroing in on a number of key areas that will drive trade and investment between the US and Jamaica.

Chief executive officer of AmCham Jamaica Jodi-Ann Quarrie told Jamaica Observer that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the organisation “to re-envision” how it operates, and as a result, this led to “greater streamlining and the increased use of technology but also a reimagining” of what the organisation’s members required of it.

“As a trade and investment organisation focused on the US, Jamaica, and Latin America, we understand that it is important for our voices to be heard on important issues. While our members over the past few years have needed us to be behind the scenes lobbying the US and Jamaican governments on policies that are mindful of the business impact of the pandemic on a small island developing state like Jamaica, they’re now asking us to step out once again into the public sphere and speak on issues in 2023,” she said.

Quarrie noted that the areas in which AmCham will amply its advocacy are: energy, digitisation and cybersecurity, workforce readiness, trade and trade facilitation, and law and policy affecting businesses.

“To that end, we have established committees around these areas and have planned events and engagements with our members and the wider public, including a large AmCham Summit scheduled later this year to tackle these issues,” she continued.

Just last month, on March 9, AmCham Jamaica participated in federal hearings before the US International Trade Commission (USITC) in Washington, DC, United States, during which it lobbied for the continuation of duty-free access of goods from Jamaica and the Caribbean. During the hearings Quarrie gave oral testimony defending Jamaica’s use of the duty-free regime and responded to questions about potential impediments for Jamaican businesses.

“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,” the AmCham Jamaica CEO said then.

From time to time, the USITC reviews the economic impact of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and other 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.

In terms of utilising technology to better serve its members, AmCham Jamaica has hosted and will continue to host webinars on topical issues affecting its membership.

In February, the lobby group hosted a webinar on the theme ‘Staying Ahead of the Game: Preparing for Jamaica’s Data Protection Act’. It also held a webinar last week Friday on the theme ‘Solving the Workforce Challenge: Strategies for Businesses to Attract and Retain Talent in the Future’.

Looking ahead, Quarrie told Business Observer that AmCham Jamaica will share “information on the work of the committees and the work of AmCham Jamaica”, especially as it relates to “the public-facing work we are doing to improve business in Jamaica and trade among our partners”.