In his maiden visit to the English-speaking Caribbean, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the Donald Trump administration aims to prioritise tourism, security issues, energy and supply chain challenges facing Jamaica.

Rubio, who spoke at a joint press conference following high-level meetings with Prime Minister Andrew Holness this afternoon (March 26), further detailed that the president is “realigning” Washington’s trade policy primarily to reset global commerce in a way that’s ‘fair’ to the US.

“After 20 to 30 years of what we believe is unfairness—not when it comes to Jamaica, but broader than that—new opportunities will come to create new alignments and new trade arrangements and new trade opportunities, and I believe that Jamaica is one of those places that together we both stand to benefit,” he said.

Furthermore, he underscored that a crucial partnership between Jamaica and the US is tourism, which is a significant part of the island’s economy.

“We pledge we were going to go back and reevaluate the travel advisories as they currently stand to ensure that they do reflect the reality of the new numbers because you’ve made very impressive progress in your general numbers overall when it comes to the murder rate and so forth, but in particular those travel advisories are designed for American travellers, and I think we need to analyse that and just ensure that the status accurately reflects the status quo and takes into account the progress you have already made this year and last year, which I think is one of the highest numbers in terms of reductions we’ve seen of any country in the region,” he added.

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Additionally, security is another key feature of the US foreign policy to reduce the flow of illegal guns into the Caribbean.

“If you look across the region and really at many parts of the world, how many of the threats we face in the world now that were once from an ideological terrorist organisation or from a nation-state are now coming from nongovernmental criminal organisations, who in some cases are more powerful than the government in some of these countries. And we’ve confronted this issue to challenge Mexico, to challenge the border between Venezuela and Colombia; it is the challenge in Haiti, and it’s been a challenge here,” Rubio expressed.

“It’s a multifaceted challenge; they are transnational for a number of reasons… How many of the guns and weapons that are being used by gangs to commit acts of violence here in Jamaica are purchased in the US and then shipped here? We want to commit to doing more to stop that flow at the same time as we commit to increasing your capacity… This means America helping Jamaica to build its own capacity, its own ability to confront these challenges and solve these problems because security is a baseline for everything.”

In particular, Rubio expressed that Washington desires to see more supply chain-related activities taking place in the United States.

“We asked ourselves, if so many of these products are destined for the North American market, why are so many of the productive capacities located halfway around the world? There are a lot of different reasons why that happens, but it makes all the sense in the world to see more productive capacity, more manufacturing, and more industry relocated into our hemisphere.

“We certainly have the labour and the population and the desire to do so in our hemisphere; it’s closer to the land markets, and so we want to pursue opportunities to make that possible, and clearly, Jamaica is one of those places that can benefit,” he continued.

He also emphasised that there are extraordinary opportunities in the US/Jamaica partnership, particularly in energy investment.

“The US is going to be producing a lot of liquefied natural gas, which is a very clean fuel that we have in abundance and will seek to export, and it’s also critical, by the way, because you cannot have manufacturing without reliable and affordable energy, and so it’s one of those things I think potentially we can continue to partner on along with other things like mining opportunities off the seabed.

“In essence, to utilise all of the resources of the country in a responsible way that protects your environment, protects your natural beauty and at the same time generates income and opportunities for employment for the people, ultimately governments have two primary responsibilities: to safety and the prosperity of their people,” he added.

Furthermore, during Holness’s address, he expressed that this visit so early in Rubio’s term confirms the strength of the historic friendship and strategic partnership between Jamaica and the United States, one built on shared values, democratic ideals and people-to-people ties.

“Our nations have long been united by a common commitment to prosperity and security, and [his] visit today reaffirms this bond. Today, we engage in productive and constructive discussions focused on strengthening this partnership and expanding our opportunities for collaboration,” Holness said.

He also exclaimed that the US has been instrumental in supporting Jamaica’s efforts to bolster its marine domain awareness and intelligence surveillance capabilities, which are crucial in its fight against organised criminal networks.

“We discussed expanding and repurposing development assistance towards our shared goals, including security. This will exponentially expand our corporation in fighting lottery scammers, transnational organised crimes, trafficking guns and building safer communities. We are committed to ensuring our partnership delivers results in driving down criminality and trafficking in this hemisphere.

“Jamaica remains committed to fostering a partnership with the US, one grounded in mutual respect, shared values and collective ambition for a stronger and more resilient future… We look forward to building upon this foundation, deepening our collaboration and taking our partnership to new and greater heights for the lasting benefits of both our nations,” Holness added.