Caricom States Want Single Market Nearly 40 years ago, the English-speaking Caribbean made its first attempt at economic integration with the formation of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (Carifta). Carifta eventually became Caricom, or the Caribbean Community, which has since given rise to the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME)—a concept that, among other things, aims to remove all barriers to the establishment of businesses and intra-island movement. So far, 12 of Caricom’s 15 member states have joined the CSME. Haiti, Montserrat and the Bahamas have yet to sign up. According to the Organization of American States (OAS), the revised CSME treaty “establishes a series of policies aimed at fostering the growth and improvement of industrial, agricultural, trade and transport sectors, as well as ensuring that the benefits expected from the CSME are not frustrated by anti-competitive business conduct.” Albert Ramdin, assistant secretary-general of the OAS, said Caribbean states are too small and vulnerable to compete globally on their own. “Perhaps the most critical tool to achieving the development objectives is through the deepening and strengthening of the region’s integration process, currently enshrined within the framework of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, and the Caricom-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement,” said Ramdin, a native of Suriname. The official spoke recently at a seminar in St. Lucia titled “Shaping a Trade Agenda to Promote Regional Integration and Competitiveness for Caricom.” Organized by the OAS and the World Bank in conjunction with the government of St. Lucia, the event examined the current status of negotiations between the European Union and the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) group of former European colonies to form an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The seminar comes as the Caribbean is being encouraged to finalize its negotiating positions in time to enable EPA implementation in January 2008. Ramdin urged Caribbean lawmakers to critically examine the economic development challenges facing the sub-region, the impact of globalization on Caribbean economies, and the role of free trade agreements in enhancing development, including the EPA. Eventually, the goal of the CSME is to coordinate macroeconomic and monetary policies, harmonize fiscal policies, and share a common currency (similar to the euro). In addition, a Caricom passport is now being established that will be recognized by all member states, and within a few years, this passport will replace the current country-specific passports that until now have been issued by individual governments throughout the Caribbean. Establishing a common currency is far trickier, however, than coming up with a common passport. “In the first place, the member states of Caricom differ in size, economic structure, rates of economic growth, levels of development, economic policy and institutional capacity,” said Richard Bernal, Jamaica’s former ambassador in Washington and now director-general of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery. “Annual per-capita [gross domestic product] ranges from under $500 in Haiti to over $16,000 in the Bahamas, and the population of St. Kitts is 42,000 while that of Haiti is 8.1 million,” Bernal pointed out in this month’s issue of Américas Magazine. Bernal, who served as Jamaica’s ambassador here from 1991 to 2001, added that “although Haiti is a full member of Caricom, its participation has been restricted and a special effort is necessary to ensure its full integration into the CSME.” — Larry Luxner

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