Latest update May 14th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 09, 2014 News
– Former T&T PM weighs in
By Kiana Wilburg
“All that CARICOM has meant to us after 30 years, in terms of economic activity, is 1.8 per cent. And you see it in our merchandise figures… in our trade figures.”
This assertion was made by Jamaica’s Opposition spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Bruce Golding.
Golding expressed in a recent report that “CARICOM has been a failure, especially for Jamaica.”
And in fact he is not the only one who firmly believes that only a few stand to benefit from the “CARICOM dream.”
This was the main focus of former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Basdeo Panday, who delivered the keynote address at the Annual Awards Presentation of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA).
The special event was facilitated at the Pegasus Hotel on Friday last.
During his delivery, the Former Prime Minister addressed varying perspectives in terms of the future of CARICOM economic integration.
Panday opined that when the idea of “CARICOM” was first conceptualized, the founding leaders were not too clear on what they wanted it to specifically address and/or achieve.
He said that the original desire seemed to be intended for political integration but when that idea faded, the dream of unity did not.
An attempt was then made at economic integration which saw the birth of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) in 1968, evolving into the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), with the signing of the Treaty of Chaugaramas in 1973.
The name change surpassed the ideologies of economic unity and sought for an integrated Caribbean region to benefit all. It sought to enhance competitiveness, the achievements of individual states, and create opportunities for accelerated growth and technological developments.
In this vein, CARICOM and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) share three fundamental roles; economic integration, coordination of foreign policies and fundamental coordination (sharing resources).
But Panday questioned, “To what extent have these objectives been achieved?”
He contended that “it would be unfair to say that the integration movement has been a total failure. Some of the goals, however, have been more successful than others while some benefitted more than others”.
“For example; CARICOM’s imports and exports rose from nearly US$9.4 million in 1990 to US$23.2billion in 2004. This performance comprises 10.4 percent of CARICOM imports and exports and in 1990 and 12.7 percent in 2004. However the statistics for trade by individual countries indicated the extent to which some countries benefitted more than others.”
After making several references to a long list of statistics, he summarized that the data revealed that the benefits of integration have been very one-sided, especially to lesser developed countries.
This unequal development, he said, has been one of the constraints to the deeper integration process.
“Other factors include the fact that the area is not contiguous and it is only united by what divides it—The Caribbean Sea. Therefore transport is a major problem. And attempts to deal with it have, by and large, failed.”
Panday stressed that the absence of contiguity and the issue of transport also pose as a problem on decision-making. He noted that the lack of harmonization statistics which are also crucial to CSME and the monitoring of its performance is sadly lacking.
Another constraint, he highlighted, was that of the failure to implement decisions and the need for the establishment of mechanisms to ensure its enforcement.
“The view has been expressed that the misunderstanding of sovereignty and the ambition of some leaders contribute to this. CARICOM has failed to deal with unequal development and the disadvantaged lesser developed countries.”
In this light, he said that some commentators have argued that there has been a failure of effective leadership in the region.
Questions have also been asked as to whether CARICOM can survive in the global economy. In the quest for economic integration it must first face two difficulties, he said.
“It must first complete the regional integration scheme including tightening loose common external tariff and … the need for systems to deepen functional corporation and improve efficiency in delivery of public services.”
He added as well that with regard to the expired preferential trade arrangements with the two largest trading partners, the United States and the European Union (EU), the leaders have failed to devise or implement strategies for inserting and embedding the CARICOM economies into a dynamic and competitive global economy.
Moreover, distinguished leaders in the region have expressed concerns about the future of CARICOM. To this end, Panday made reference to a comment made by Golding.
His assessment, he said, had been based on the fact that “after 30 years of CARICOM, inter-regional trade amounts to only 18 per cent of the total trade of the region. Golding said that some countries have done better than others.
Giving examples, Golding said that while 7.4 per cent of Trinidad’s economic activity was dependent on CARICOM trade and 9.1 per cent in the case of Barbados, in Jamaica’s case it was only 1.8 per cent.
He said that in the case of Trinidad, 12 per cent of its exports go to CARICOM countries, one per cent of its imports come from CARICOM countries. In the case of Jamaica, 3.6 per cent of our exports go to CARICOM, but twelve and a half per cent of our imports come from CARICOM countries, so some people have benefited, some have benefited marginally, (while) some have benefited not at all.”
According to Panday, when some sections of the Caribbean consider the weaknesses and CARICOM’s failure to deliver on its promises, they opine that it should be named “CARI-gone” and not CARICOM.
The Former PM articulated that the “CARICOM Experiment” seems to be on the brink of failure and that it has remained at a mere talking point even when the treaty was revised in 2001.
Panday stressed that it has been said that if governments cannot be trusted to steer their respective ships, then how can one expect them to take on regional integration.
He suggested that Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname will find it beneficial to integrate their own economies more deeply and jointly pursue arrangements with Brazil, Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
“It is an interesting suggestion and should be seriously pursued and I have always maintained that the destiny of my country is not regional but continental.”
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