With increased concerns about the effects of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports by the US Government, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith is asserting that Jamaica's bauxite sector is protected.
The US imposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent levy on aluminium imports on June 1.
While Jamaica does not produce or export steel or aluminium, it produces the primary inputs of bauxite and alumina.
Senator Johnson Smith, speaking Tuesday at a media briefing at her ministry, said although more than 75 per cent of Jamaica's bauxite goes to the United States, the product is tariff-exempt under the Caribbean Basin Initiative.
However, she pointed out that Jamaica's alumina exports could be affected by the trade dispute between the US and other countries, such as China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico.
She said her ministry will continue to monitor the trade disputes, paying special attention to the retaliatory tariffs from countries to which Jamaica exports alumina.
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