Bernal DEPUTY United States Trade Representative Peter Allgeier is due on the island for a series of meetings with Jamaican Government and business leaders today.
As Deputy USTR, Ambassador Allgeier is responsible for supervising U.S. trade negotiations with Europe and the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada. He is therefore the key negotiator for the U.S. in the implementation of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), while supervising negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other multinational institutions.
During his visit, Ambassador Allgeier is scheduled to meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D. Knight and Ambassador Richard Bernal, head of CARICOM's Regional Negotiating Machinery, along with his private sector discussions.
Ambassador Allgeier's visit follows last week's announcement from Washington that, in response to calls from developing countries, the U.S. will introduce new measures to govern trade in agriculture, including the reduction of domestic subsidies. Among the likely issues to be raised during the upcoming talks will be the status of regional trade negotiations, and trade capacity building in developing countries.
