no i dont and dont want to know. we just discuss topics in the general sense.
After 13 Jamaicans were prevented from entering Trinidad last Tuesday night, Jamaicans are starting a campaign to ban Trinidad and Tobago goods from entering their country.
The Jamaica Gleaner newspaper yesterday highlighted the story of school teacher Kesreen Green Dillon who started a Facebook page inviting her compatriots to boycott Trinidad and Tobago products sold in Jamaica.
“I am tired of seeing Trinidad and Barbados treat other member states, especially Jamaica, like second-rate citizens,†the Gleaner quoted Dillon as saying. She also expressed her anger over how Jamaican staff was treated after the sale of Air Jamaica to the Trinidad and Tobago government.
“Declaring that the conduct of Trinidad and Tobago has been anything but neighbourly, Green Dillon argued that it is time that Jamaica sends a strong message that ‘enough is enough’,†the Gleaner reported.
The Gleaner had also reported on Saturday that the Jamaican Manufacturers’ Association had said in a statement that Trinidad was being “divisive and foolhardyâ€.
While the Express could not find Dillon’s specific page on Facebook, it seems several Jamaicans also share her sentiments. There were at least four “Boycott Trinidad Products†open pages on the social networking site, and half are Jamaican. Many, however, were actually opened before the travellers were banned.
“This is a relatively volatile situation. Clearly the existing tension with trade imbalance has also been exacerbated,†Trade Minister Vasant Bharath said in a telephone interview yesterday.
He noted that Jamaica is Trinidad and Tobago’s second biggest export market after the United States.
In 2011, Trinidad and Tobago’s Caricom exports were valued at US$2 billion, while imports were $140.9 million. Jamaica was the biggest market for Caricom with imports valued at US$1 billion, but exports were US$67 million.
Jamaica imports approximately US$132 million worth of goods from Trinidad and Tobago—without fuel— and approximately US$700 million inclusive of fuel.
T&T Manufacturers also have the competitive edge, Bharath said, because of a larger capacity, economies of scale and technology than their Jamaican counterparts.
“(Recent events) can create further tension. I will speak urgently with the Minister of National Security (Gary Griffith) because immigration is (under his purview). I want to get the story from him. From a trade perspective, we want to make sure this is resolved quickly and as mutually beneficial as possible,†he said.