National Trade Policy Launched
Today, the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Commerce, launched the Policy which will be used to guide trade development for the next ten years. The 2019-2023 national plan has input from government, statutory bodies and the Belize Chamber of Commerce. According to the Ministry, the plan has been in the works for over two years, and will be supported with an implementation policy. Minister Tracy Panton says that this national trade policy will help to grow Belize’s economy through market access and entry; trade facilitation; institutional capacity, among other areas. Here’s more from Minister Panton.
Tracy Panton, Minister of Trade
“It is important that we have a framework that guides not only trade development but the trade facilitation processes and that we can be better prepared and able to responds to shifts in global trade trends that affect the entry and access of Belizean goods and services to the global market place. We are currently working on an action plan, an implementation schedule that also takes into account all the key stakeholders in the public sector and private sector. The first obviously is to sensitize the relevant and department on the details of this plan even though they should be sufficiently sensitized because they have been involved in the process and also the make sure that it gets integrated into the planning for trade development for future market access. We have always looked at our traditional goods and services but there is a growing demand, industrial hemp being one. Some of the side products that come from agriculture products, soy bean oil. There are value added products that there is a demand for and we feel that we are well poised to deliver to the international market so that is very much integrated in the plans and also how we integrated those new emerging products into our overall trade facilitation program. The ultimate goal is first and foremost that we can minimize our imports by having Belizean goods and services that we can substitute that we have on our shelves for Belizean consumption. Also to find areas where we have competitive advantage to these markets so we can get our goods and services to the global market place and increase our export earnings.”