Jamaican manufacturers slam foreign minister over T&T remark

(Jamaica Observer) The Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) on Monday told Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister AJ Nicholson to step aside or start singing a different tune on the trade dispute between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

In a strongly worded reaction to Nicholson’s outburst in the Senate on Friday against their criticism of Trinidad and Tobago’s trade practices, the JMA said that the minister contradicted earlier statements by Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister Anthony Hylton, promising to take the trade issues as far as the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), if necessary.

“The confusion within the Government is unacceptable. One minister is saying one thing and another minister something else,” the JMA said. “What is really the position? Minister Nicholson needs to start singing a different tune, or step aside for someone who is a team player, understands issues and addresses them rather than wishing them away.”