JAMAICA: REQUEST TO RECONSIDER COMMERCIAL SERVICE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 001049 SIPDIS SIPDIS COMMERCE FOR A/S HERNANDEZ FROM CHARGE D'AFFAIRES BULLEN STATE FOR WHA/CAR, WHA/EEB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT APER ECON EINT EINV ETRD JM XL DR SUBJECT: JAMAICA: REQUEST TO RECONSIDER COMMERCIAL SERVICE CLOSURE IN KINGSTON REF: A. A) PORT OF SPAIN 435 ¶B. B) BRIDGETOWN 499 ¶C. C) KINGSTON 640 SANTO DOMI 00001049 001.3 OF 002 ¶1. //// PLEASE CANCEL THIS TELEGRAM. IT HAS BEEN REPLACED BY SANTO DOMINGO 1050 REPEAT 1050 - That, for population size, the region represents a significant and growing market for U.S. exports. - The vagaries of inter-island travel will make regional coverage less than optimal. - Without trained personnel on the ground devoted solely to U.S. export promotion, other competitors (i.e. China, UK, Canada and Venezuela) will exploit market opportunities and gain market share. END SUMMARY. ¶2. The Caribbean represents a 15 billion dollar export market for the U.S. and must not be taken for granted. The closure of the three satellite offices, which cover 11 countries from Barbados, Trinidad, and Jamaica at a time when other countries, particularly the Chinese, are expanding their presence in the region will surely result in a significant reduction in U.S. company's ability to compete in this region. ¶3. DR-CAFTA has significantly increased the workload in the FCS office in the Dominican Republic. The office was fully engaged in the process to work through the issues that were blocking the entry into force of the FTA and played a critical role in monitoring and interacting with their colleagues in the Embassy with the GODR. Now, with the FTA fully functioning, FCS has the lead on most issues relating to dealing with conflicts and the practical testing the new rules and laws that govern trade, government procurement, and other important elements of the FTA. ¶4. Whether it is the size of FCS' outbound trade delegations, the number of export successes they report, their revenue generation, or practically any other indicator, FCS DR's program operations are increasing, relative to their past experience, or when compared to any of our neighbors in the region. The same is true for the three satellite offices. If the offices in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad are closed, there will be a very large increase in the workload imposed on FCS Santo Domingo. ¶5. Right now, the DR/Caribbean (all 4 offices) handle many requests (daily) from Embassies, US companies and USEACs for assistance in exporting to the region including countries not covered by FCS. Partnership posts are not proficiently trained to provide FCS services and require significant hand-holding from DR staff. ¶6. Reftels pointed out the growing perception within CARICOM that the region is being neglected. The closure of the three will certainly cement that perception and leave the door wide open for others to exploit. We have already seen the Chinese aggressive trade promotion activities, where Chinese exports to the region went from virtually nil ten years ago, and now stands at U.S. 4 billion per year. ¶7. While our regional office here in Santo Domingo backstops and provides guidance to the three offices in question, there is absolutely no substitute for an ongoing on the ground presence to mobilize, explore and seal U.S. trade opportunities with local business entities. Another issue with which regional travel must contend, is the travel time between islands. An example of this is that two days is lost in travel from post to and from serviced posts. ¶8. Because these Islands speak English as a first language it may be believed that they are easy for U.S. companies to do business. The opposite is the truth. The size of government, lack of sophistication of the private sector and tendency toward protectionism makes the need for specialized U.S.G. support critical for our companies to compete. ¶9. It is reasonable to say that the increase to their workload has yet to be assessed, and despite the FCS staff's ability and dedication, this new challenge will be daunting. Closure of these offices should be reconsidered considering the growing demand for imports and escalating competition from other countries, especially the Chinese. The recent economic growth and increases in investment in the DR will SANTO DOMI 00001049 002.2 OF 002 occupy whatever reserve time and energy the FCS DR office has. The expertise of FCS cannot be substituted by State Econ Commercial resources, no matter how much they try. Their skill set is different. I urge you to take the time to reassess the impact of this closure and seriously reconsider maintaining FCS' presence in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados. BULLEN