KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Audley Shaw, says the Government is moving to repeal and replace the Trade Act.

Shaw made the announcement during Thursday’s (March 4) meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, whose members were reviewing the 2021/22 Estimates of Expenditure.

The Trade Act provides for, among other things, the regulation of trade in goods, including the conditions of distribution, purchase and sale; and the importation and exportation, except under licence, of goods of any class or description.

The legislation was first enacted in 1955, with amendments made in 2009.

Shaw said the Act was enacted primarily for the establishment of a Prices Commission, the core mandate of which was to protect the interest of consumers.

“What we have done now, the Ministry has issued a Request for Proposal to engage a consultant to execute the work to make recommendations [and] to repeal and replace the Trade Act. The bidding process closed on February 26, and an evaluation of the bidders is under way right now,” he noted.