Jamaica Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in jamaica, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Market Overview
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The United States is Jamaica’s main trading partner, accounting for over 40 percent of total trade in 2022. Jamaica’s other major trading partners are China, Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, and Japan. Jamaica is attractive to U.S. exporters due to its geographic proximity and access to shipping lanes; relatively large English-speaking market; stable democracy and strong commercial and cultural affinity; and improving business climate. 

Jamaica has demonstrated strong fiscal discipline since it began implementing International Monetary Fund (IMF) guided economic reforms in 2013. Through successive programs, Jamaica restructured its domestic debt and undertook ambitious economic and legislative reforms to include the elimination of sector-specific tax incentives and waivers and improving the business climate. By the time the program ended in 2019, Jamaica had successfully passed all its reviews with the macro-economic indicators showing major improvements. The debt to GDP ratio moved from a peak of almost 150 percent to near 90 percent, inflation has averaged single digits and unemployment fell to a record low of 4.5 percent.

Please see the Executive Summary in the Investment Climate Statement.

Political Environment

Visit the State Department’s website for background on the country’s political and economic environment: https://www.state.gov/countries-areas/jamaica/

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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