Anti-Dumping & Subsidies Commission launches 2018 Trade Remedies Seminar Series

The Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission (ADSC), an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, on Friday, March 23, 2018 launched its 2018 Trade Remedies Seminar Series at the Terra Nova All Suites Hotel in Kingston. The training sessions which will get underway on April 26, aim to help industry players to build their capacity to defend and expand their markets locally and overseas, through the use of trade remedies. These remedies can help to protect local manufacturers and producers from unfair trade practices.

Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Mr. Courtney Cole who represented Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, is urging all stakeholders to make good use of the sessions, which he says will provide new and varied opportunities for in-depth training in order for the industry to understand and utilize trade remedies.

“Industries should not wait until you are struggling to use these tools on your journey towards competitiveness and prosperity”, the chief technical director said.

Mr. Cole said that the Government was committed to boosting its trade remedies capacity, noting that this was a vital part of the Government’s strategy for managing Jamaica’s international trade engagement. He further stated that trade remedies would help to achieve a level playing field for domestic producers in any World Trade Organization (WTO) member country.

“The Jamaican economy is relatively small and open. Therefore, trade remedies are useful tools, necessary to help prevent injury to our Jamaican manufacturers and deter unfair outcomes, which may in some cases result in the complete annihilation of Jamaican industries”, he said.

He added that the trade remedies which are available for use by industries when they are experiencing injury from imports include antidumping action to remedy dumping; countervailing duty measures to remedy certain instances of subsidization and safeguard action to remedy the effects of significant increases in imports.

The ASDC has the mandate to investigate complaints from domestic producers of dumping, subsidization and import surges that have caused, are causing or threaten to cause injury to them. The Commission’s work forms an important part of the infrastructure in Jamaica for defending and maintaining a robust and resilient manufacturing and productive sector.

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