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Andrea Brown gets WTO post
published: Monday | February 4, 2008
Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter
Andrea Marie Brown - Ian Allen/Staff [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Photographer[/COLOR][/COLOR]
Many people think her job involves getting rid of garbage but that is far from reality.
Andrea Marie Brown is the executive director of the Anti-dumping and Subsidies Commission, a public agency formed to help safeguard the Jamaican manufacturing sector from increased imports from globalisation and the liberalisation of tariffs. And, she was recently nominated to the dispute [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]settlement[/COLOR][/COLOR] panel of the World Trade Organisation.
She said people often misunderstand the eight-year-old commission's duties, thinking they deal with [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]environmental [COLOR=orange! important]issues[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]. "Especially after Hurricane Ivan, people were calling, 'they haven't picked up the trash from in front my yard yet'," the lawyer by profession said with a smile.
However, anti-dumping, which is the aspect of the name that causes the confusion, is a worldwide trade term which comes from price dumping.
"Dumping (price dumping) is when companies lower the price they usually sell their products for in their country and send it to your country at a lower price," Brown explained.
While the practice is legitimate and does not indicate that the goods are inferior, it is considered unfair trade if it is affecting similar goods produced in the market to which the goods are being sold.
Lower price
She explained that Japanese cars might be coming in at a lower price than they are sold in Japan but they would not be able to regulate that under the WTO rules as Jamaica does not manufacture cars.
Place a tariff
"But if [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]cement[/COLOR][/COLOR] (almost an infamous case) is coming in at a lower price than from its point of origin and harming our domestic cement industry, under certain circumstances we can discipline (place a tariff) on that."
The organisation also helps to regulate subsidies and safeguards, and is linked closely with the WTO, an association of over 141 countries, whose aim is to liberalise trade.
"The rules are made by all the countries," she said. Her recent nomination to the dispute settlement panel of the WTO allows her to contribute to an integral part of the organisation's duties. The process of dispute settlement is considered to be one of the best things about the WTO, which is that if you have a problem with your [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]trading[/COLOR][/COLOR] partner, there is this mechanism for resolution," she said. For every case, a panel is formed to deal with the issue.
Honour for Jamaica
The nine-month process, which will take place for the most part in Geneva, is slated to end in August and while it demands time she doesn't really have, she is excited by the prospect.
"The big deal about this is that Jamaica is small and our number of cases are fairly small in comparison to other countries," she added. "So it is quite an honour for a Jamaican to be elected to that panel and really to be acceptable by the parties."
She said this opportunity allows us to be more experienced in dealing with trade matters as we often have to solicit the help of foreigners to deal with trade disputes. "So every time we get a break in this system to know and experience more, it's good."
When she is not in the office, she enjoys playing golf, singing with the praise team at her church, Saxthorpe Methodist in Kingston, and volunteering with a team that organises a poor relief outreach project in the church.
PASSION FOR YOUTH
She also has a passion for youth and understanding what makes them tick. She said she even has a Facebook account. While residing in the United States and working as a lawyer, she was a member of the planning and implementation team and the public policy and public relations committees of the Reclaim Our Youth Mentoring Programme, an initiative to rescue court-involved non-violent youth.
Brown attended the Mavisville Preparatory and Immaculate Conception High schools. She later received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Howard University and a law degree from Georgetown University. She is a member of the bar in Maryland, the District of Columbia and a member of the United States Federal Bar for the same areas. She has completed a certification process at the Norman Manley Law School and is awaiting her acceptance to the Jamaican Bar Association.
While residing in the United States and working as a lawyer, she was a member of the planning and implementation team and the public policy and public relations committees of the Reclaim Our Youth Mentoring Programme.
published: Monday | February 4, 2008
Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter
Andrea Marie Brown - Ian Allen/Staff [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Photographer[/COLOR][/COLOR]
Many people think her job involves getting rid of garbage but that is far from reality.
Andrea Marie Brown is the executive director of the Anti-dumping and Subsidies Commission, a public agency formed to help safeguard the Jamaican manufacturing sector from increased imports from globalisation and the liberalisation of tariffs. And, she was recently nominated to the dispute [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]settlement[/COLOR][/COLOR] panel of the World Trade Organisation.
She said people often misunderstand the eight-year-old commission's duties, thinking they deal with [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]environmental [COLOR=orange! important]issues[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]. "Especially after Hurricane Ivan, people were calling, 'they haven't picked up the trash from in front my yard yet'," the lawyer by profession said with a smile.
However, anti-dumping, which is the aspect of the name that causes the confusion, is a worldwide trade term which comes from price dumping.
"Dumping (price dumping) is when companies lower the price they usually sell their products for in their country and send it to your country at a lower price," Brown explained.
While the practice is legitimate and does not indicate that the goods are inferior, it is considered unfair trade if it is affecting similar goods produced in the market to which the goods are being sold.
Lower price
She explained that Japanese cars might be coming in at a lower price than they are sold in Japan but they would not be able to regulate that under the WTO rules as Jamaica does not manufacture cars.
Place a tariff
"But if [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]cement[/COLOR][/COLOR] (almost an infamous case) is coming in at a lower price than from its point of origin and harming our domestic cement industry, under certain circumstances we can discipline (place a tariff) on that."
The organisation also helps to regulate subsidies and safeguards, and is linked closely with the WTO, an association of over 141 countries, whose aim is to liberalise trade.
"The rules are made by all the countries," she said. Her recent nomination to the dispute settlement panel of the WTO allows her to contribute to an integral part of the organisation's duties. The process of dispute settlement is considered to be one of the best things about the WTO, which is that if you have a problem with your [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]trading[/COLOR][/COLOR] partner, there is this mechanism for resolution," she said. For every case, a panel is formed to deal with the issue.
Honour for Jamaica
The nine-month process, which will take place for the most part in Geneva, is slated to end in August and while it demands time she doesn't really have, she is excited by the prospect.
"The big deal about this is that Jamaica is small and our number of cases are fairly small in comparison to other countries," she added. "So it is quite an honour for a Jamaican to be elected to that panel and really to be acceptable by the parties."
She said this opportunity allows us to be more experienced in dealing with trade matters as we often have to solicit the help of foreigners to deal with trade disputes. "So every time we get a break in this system to know and experience more, it's good."
When she is not in the office, she enjoys playing golf, singing with the praise team at her church, Saxthorpe Methodist in Kingston, and volunteering with a team that organises a poor relief outreach project in the church.
PASSION FOR YOUTH
She also has a passion for youth and understanding what makes them tick. She said she even has a Facebook account. While residing in the United States and working as a lawyer, she was a member of the planning and implementation team and the public policy and public relations committees of the Reclaim Our Youth Mentoring Programme, an initiative to rescue court-involved non-violent youth.
Brown attended the Mavisville Preparatory and Immaculate Conception High schools. She later received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Howard University and a law degree from Georgetown University. She is a member of the bar in Maryland, the District of Columbia and a member of the United States Federal Bar for the same areas. She has completed a certification process at the Norman Manley Law School and is awaiting her acceptance to the Jamaican Bar Association.
While residing in the United States and working as a lawyer, she was a member of the planning and implementation team and the public policy and public relations committees of the Reclaim Our Youth Mentoring Programme.
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