Above: Industry Minister Anthony Hylton

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaica could lift the ban on the trade of scrap metal enacted by the previous government in July 2011.

Industry Minister Anthony Hylton, who announced the possibility, said that there was no timetable at present, but that the Ministry had already engaged in dialogue with stakeholders to ensure “agreement about the way forward.”

“We will, therefore, seek appropriate regulation, if that is at all possible at this time,” he said. “This is with a view to stimulate the allied activities and jobs in welding, bodywork and other mechanical operations to contribute to the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme on a sustained basis.”

In an interview in December, Hylton told Caribbean Journal he had concerns about the ban and the process by which it was enacted.

“I believe that the scrap metal trade, properly regulated, is a source of living for a number of persons, and it is part of the international trade that is global, and the way to do it is to regulate it,” he said at the time.

In today’s world, regulation is the better strategy, he said. “As a matter of philosophy, to prohibit certain business activities in a globalised world is not the smartest way to approach it.”