There are some statistics about which Jamaica's partners in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) need to be reminded, or if they did not know, to be clearly told and made to understand.

In 2008, Jamaica's imports from the community reached over US$1.68 billion, or approximately 20 per cent of global imports. That represented an increase of 30.4 per cent in the value of the goods this country purchased from its Caricom partners.

Jamaica sold a mere US$66.1 million worth of goods to the community and ran a negative trade balance of US$1.61 billion, which was US$382.5 million worse than in 2007.

Most of Jamaica's imports from Caricom was petrol from Trinidad and Tobago, but we also bought a large amount of manufactured products. Other Caricom partners also benefited from Jamaica's penchant to import.

That Jamaica buys so much from the Caribbean, compared to what the region buys from us, is explained in part - as the foreign affairs and foreign trade Minister, Dr Ken Baugh, told his colleagues in Guyana recently - by the fact that we are, by population, Caricom's largest market. That we sell relatively little has something do with our productive inefficiencies.

Not the whole story

But that is not, by any means, the whole story. The greater part of the narrative is that Jamaica believes in free trade, keeps its markets open and plays by the rules.

It is unfortunate that, for doing this, as one of the country's former ministers once inelegantly claimed about people who do such things, Jamaica gets shafted. And that makes it difficult for those who appreciate and articulate the inherent good sense of conglomeration and partnership, as envisaged by the Caribbean Community.

It is troubling, too, that the culprit in this regard is often, but not only, Trinidad and Tobago, to which Jamaican firms are now having trouble exporting animal and meat-related and vegetable products. Port-of-Spain has erected hurdles under the guise of sanitary and phyto-sanitary protection.

Vulgar trade barriers

We call them what they are: vulgar trade barriers.

Similarly, Belize has blocked the importation of Jamaican beer and spirit into that country. In the past, it has been Barbados and soft drinks and plastic products.

Such behaviour not only runs counter to the spirit of Caricom's move to transform itself into a single market, and ultimately a seamless economic space, but the letter of the law that governs the relationship.

This behaviour cannot be allowed to continue. Jamaica has talked long, and sometimes loudly, about this matter, as Minister Baugh did at the recent meeting of the community's Council on Trade and Economic Development.

In the Jamaican Parliament recently, the commerce minister, Karl Samuda, in the face of the regional provocation, used a Jamaican proverb which we commend to the errant Caricom member: "Same knife stick goat, stick sheep". Translation: Whatever happens to me can happen to you.

So, if the misbehaving Caricom members do not end their recalcitrance, Jamaica has two options: it can go the Caribbean Court of Justice, or it can retaliate directly.

Either way, Kingston must be ready to act decisively. Hopefully, they won't allow it to come to that.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.