Attorney-at-law and partner in the law firm Myers, Fletcher & Gordon (MF&G), Monica Ladd (left), and the chairman of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce's Conference Board (JCB), Desmond Blades (right), listen to a point being made by the executive director, Anti-dumping & Subsidies Commission, Andrea Marie Brown, at the MF&G/JCB Wednesday Morning Seminar at MF&G's offices in Kingston, recently. - Contributed

FACED WITH the prospect of increased liberalisation through trade policy and globalisation, the executive director of the Anti-dumping and Subsidies Commission, Andrea Marie Brown, says that an effective trade remedy regime is critical in enabling the productive sector to survive and compete effectively.

"Trade remedies protect domestic production and comprise anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties and safeguard measures aimed at countering dumping, subsidies and sudden increases in imports, respectively," noted the executive director.

Ms. Brown was the guest speaker at the Myers, Fletcher & Gordon/Jamaica Chamber of Commerce's Conference Board Wednesday Morning Seminar and spoke on the topic 'International Trade Remedies: A Vital Part of Jamaica's Trade Policy' .

She pointed out that Jamaica's 2001 Trade Policy is aimed at creating a new and broader export base, diversifying exports by facilitating the growth of domestic capital, thereby accommodating market penetration, reducing imports relative to outputs, and increasing the flow of net positive returns from overseas assets.

Ms. Brown noted that with Jamaica's trade deficit widening by 34 per cent during the first four months of 2005, and the economy struggling to maintain its productive sector, the policy sought to ensure that the existing advantages of foreign suppliers accessing the local market are not exacerbated by unfair trade practices and import volumes that go unchecked.