Jamaica Member profile
No notifications submitted by Jamaica
Trade policy review
Latest Trade Policy Review (Report by the WTO Secretariat): WT/TPR/S/359/Rev.1
A. Import prohibitions and restrictions and import licensing
3.35.
Import prohibitions are applied for health, security, moral or environmental considerations, or under international conventions (Box 3.1).
3.36.
Import licensing is covered by the Trade Act, Law 4 (1955), and is administered by the Trade Board Limited, under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF). The licensing system serves to monitor imports that could have a negative impact on the environment, health, economic activities and security in Jamaica. According to the authorities, this system is not intended to restrict the quantity or value of imports. Items that require an import licence include concentrated milk and cream, fireworks, motor vehicles, specific motor vehicle parts and motorized equipment (Table 3.7). The Trade Board Limited is responsible for granting licences; licences must be obtained before importation. Import licensing on industrial products is automatic. Enterprises that operate in the free-zones or that benefit from single-entity free-zone status are not subject to import licensing.
3.37.
The Trade Board Limited manages a verification process of importers of refined sugar and milk powder. Under the Refined Sugar Regimes, a duty waiver is applicable for importers using this product as a raw material in their production processes. In addition to the relevant licensing requirement attached to both refined sugar and milk powder commodities, the Trade Board conducts a pre-entry verification process to ensure that persons registered are bona fide manufacturers and, in the case of refined sugar, are eligible for duty waivers.
3.38.
The Trade Board Limited issues import licences for items that require close monitoring, with motor vehicle imports accounting for the bulk of import licence applications. The Motor Vehicle Import Policy of 2014[62], in force since 3 April 2014, superseded the Motor Vehicle Import Policy of 2004. Regulations for this Policy are being developed and will be gazetted in due time. All motor vehicles[63] require import permits (order and clearance permit) before shipment to Jamaica. Motor vehicle parts (front and back clip) of tariff heading No. 87.08.99.9, pick-up cab, pick-up beds and truck cabs of tariff Heading No. 87.07 also require import licences. Import licences are obtained from the Trade Board Limited.
3.39.
A private importer is entitled to import, every three years, one motor vehicle and one light commercial vehicle; or two light commercial vehicles; or one light commercial vehicle and one regular commercial vehicle unit. Companies, with the exception of certified motor vehicle dealers, are allowed to import three units within the age limits specified in the Policy, over a three-year period.[64] The number of vehicles that may be imported by a dealer is not limited. Car dealers must be approved and certified by the Trade Board Limited and registered under the Companies Act 2004. Motor vehicle dealers must be inspected and recertified annually by the Trade Board Limited, for a fee currently set at J$104,850 for each primary location.
3.40.
Import licence applications are generally processed within three working days, subject to the payment of receipt and processing fees, and are valid for one year in most cases, based on the items being imported. However, the validity can be extended. For refined sugar and milk powder, licences are valid for three to six months. Total processing fees per motor vehicle unit amount to J$6,407.50 (online payment) and J$8,737.50 (manual); the charge for amendments is J$2,912.50, and there is a service charge of J$1,000 for manual applications. The same fees apply whether the application is for commercial or personal effects.
B. Export prohibitions and restrictions
3.50.
Goods generally prohibited for export are listed in the Customs Act and refer mainly to arms, ammunition, and naval stores; and spirits and wines. In addition, exports of shells and some live animals are prohibited under international conventions.
3.51.
Certain items are subject to export permits, including queen conch, orchids, dolphins, Caribbean mahogany, Spanish Cedar Lignum Vitae, Jamaican parrots, as well as other live animals and plants subject to CITES, administered by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) in Jamaica. For other products, licences are required for the control, monitoring and protection of heritage, as required by the Trade Act. To attest that royalties have been paid, major producers of bauxite and alumina are granted one-year export permits, and smaller producers are granted shipment-by-shipment automatic export licences by the Ministry of Transport and Mining. Licences for sugar exports are granted according to availability under the guaranteed quota allocations. An export licence is still required from the Coconut Board to export coconuts. Export licences are granted at no charge.
3.52.
The Trade Board is responsible for issuing export licences for specific items, the exportation of which may impact negatively on the environmental, social and economic conditions of the country, or which may not be in keeping with international obligations. The Trade Board also deals with issuing certificates of origin for Jamaican products exported under various preferential trade agreements (except for the CARIFORUM and EU EPA which fall under the purview of the JCA), and with monitoring imports and exports of specified commodities, as required by MICAF. The conditions under which export licences are granted remain unchanged, and scrap metal (including scrap jewellery) is now on the list of products requiring export licences (Table 3.9).
3.53.
The Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) issues permits for the transboundary movements of wastes defined as hazardous under the Natural Resources (Hazardous Wastes) (Control of Transboundary Movements) Regulations, 2002. Under these Regulations, the importation of hazardous waste is prohibited, whilst their transit and export are controlled under a permit system.
WTO's environmental database (EDB)
The EDB contains environment-related measures that may qualify as QRs and therefore should be notified under the QR Decision.