Pre- and post-accession performance to the WTO: A vulnerability study of Jamaica’s beef industry

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has completed its twelfth year of existence. It has promoted a rule-based approach for agriculture, principles of transparency in trade, elimination of discrimination, increased liberal trade through negotiation and similar treatment, promotion of competition while encouraging economic and social development and, finally reform amongst its signatories. After more than a decade of adjustment and adoption, the WTO’s impact on Caribbean agriculture has been varied. The issue has been the subject of many debates; however, the empirical evidence to support this has not been fully collated. It is therefore necessary to gauge the impact of the WTO on the position of different economies and especially productive sectors through a series of yardsticks that are based on empirical evidence upon which we can make positive statements. This paper analyzes the performance of one segment of the Jamaican agricultural economy, (beef) in pre- and post-WTO periods using various indicators and benchmarks those against the performance of another leading economy, the United States of America (USA). The paper suggests different yardsticks and proposes a Vulnerability Index that may be used for such an exercise. This can prove to be useful to policy makers in assessing other sectors in the post-WTO period.