Ambassador Richard Bernal, Director General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery answers questions at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica's monthly breakfast meeting at Terra Nova Hotel, Kingston on Tuesday. Foreign minister Senator Anthony Hylton (left) listens keenly. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Senior Jamaican trade negotiators were critical Tuesday of the patchy engagement by the island's firms of global trade issues and told companies they needed to understand the shifting realities of world markets if they are to grasp the opportunities rather than become victims of globalisation.

"... The reality (is) that the private sector now operates in a very different global environment in which the opportunities for government to offer protection are very limited," Foreign Affairs Minister Anthony Hylton told business leaders at a breakfast meeting organised by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), to discuss the impact of globalisation on local firms.

It was in that context that Hylton advised firms of a need to shift their approach.

The private sector, he said, had to be more analytical about international markets, identify opportunities and invest in the development of products for these markets.

It was a sentiment largely echoed by Richard Bernal, the Jamaican director general of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), the group that handles international trade negotiations on behalf of Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries.

Be proactive

"If you are going to transform a challenge (represented by globalisation) into an opportunity which you can maximise, you have to be proactive," Bernal told the business leaders.

Yet, officials say that firms are often are unaware of what in taking place in trade negotiations, often in the sectors in which they operate, because of the haphazard or lack of focussed attention to the issues. And when they do, Hylton complained, it was not often at the level of the top decision-makers where policymakers and negotiators could benefit from their 'insights and expertise'.

"We need much greater private sector support and collaboration in this area," the foreign minister, who portfolio includes international trade negotiations, told the meeting. "I challenge you to become more involved."

Earl Jarrett, the PSOJ vice president who heads the organisation's trade policy committee, agreed with the criticism, saying that survey had showed that while senior managers may be aware of the global trade issues there was often ignorance at the lower levels.

"... Most of our companies have not been responsive, for whatever reason," said Jarrett, who is the general manager of Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS).

The CRNM's Bernal, however, stressed that fashioning opportunities out of globalisation was as much about national policy development as the private sector grabbing openings when they present themselves.

In the past, he said, developing countries like Jamaica, have been reactive to the agendas set by developed countries in world trade negotiations. They, instead, need to be proactive in setting goals, clearing setting out what they want to achieve at global talks.

"Trade policy must be embodied in our macro-economic policy and in our foreign policy," said Bernal "... All ministries must be onboard and must not not only come into play when we are analysing the implications of trade negotiations."

business@gleanerjm.com