More information about Jamaica is available on the Jamaica Page and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.

U.S.-Jamaica Relations

The United States established diplomatic relations with Jamaica, in 1962, following Jamaica’s independence from the United Kingdom.  The United States and Jamaica maintain strong and productive relations, based on trust and mutual interest.  This close friendship is built on a foundation of deep people-to-people ties and a vibrant Jamaican-American community.  The United States and Jamaica have a robust bilateral relationship and work closely together to foster peace and mutual prosperity, and to enhance regional security and stability through the Organization of American States (OAS), Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), and the U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis 2030 (PACC 2030).  In November 2022, the United States and Jamaica convened for their annual Strategic Dialogue, which among other goals, aims to enhance trade and investment, strengthen regional security, combat transnational criminal organizations, and tackle climate change.

Bilateral Economic Relations

The United States is Jamaica’s largest trading partner, with trade between the two countries surpassing $2.9 billion in 2022.  Jamaican companies can export over 5,800 products to the United States tariff-free through the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).  The United States has provided $200 million through the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC, formerly the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)), specifically for renewables and grid stabilization projects on the island.  The two countries have investment and double taxation treaties.  More than 100 U.S. firms have offices in the country, and hundreds of other U.S. companies sell their products through local distributors.  Almost four million American tourists visit Jamaica each year, and hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans visit the United States.  The large Jamaican-American community sends close to $3 billion in remittances to Jamaica annually.  These funds provided critical support to the Jamaican economy during the pandemic.

U.S. Assistance to Jamaica

Current priorities of U.S. assistance in Jamaica focus on support for Jamaican-led initiatives, helping to mobilize domestic resources (including the private sector).  Jamaica receives programmatic assistance from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) through CBSI.  USAID support focuses on three key sectors:  disaster risk reduction, including energy sector resiliency and disaster risk financing; youth crime and violence prevention; and, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR), HIV/AIDS epidemic control.  INL support complements USAID programming by focusing on citizen security, rule of law, and combatting transnational organized crime.  The U.S. partnership with Jamaica focuses on reducing corruption, increasing transparency and good governance, fostering Jamaican participation in regional security efforts, strengthening basic education, and increasing energy security and climate resiliency.  Crime and violence prevention efforts are targeted at building resilience of at-risk youth and their families in targeted hot spot communities and building institutional capacity of government and civil society organizations to effectively prevent crime and violence at the community level.

Bilateral Representation

Principal U.S. embassy officials are listed in the Department’s Key Officers List [418 KB].

Jamaica maintains an embassy  in the United States at 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.  20036 (tel. 202-452-0660).

More information about Jamaica is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:

U.S. Department of State

The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future