“Recalling the Declaration of Grand Anse and other decisions of the Conference of Heads of Government, in particular the commitment to deepening regional economic integration through the establishment of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in order to achieve sustained economic development based on international competitiveness, co-ordinated economic and foreign policies, functional co-operation and enhanced trade and economic relations with third States”. So says the first paragraph of the Preamble to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community, including the CSME.

Since signed by heads of government of the Caribbean Community on July 5, 2001 at their Twenty-Second Meeting of the Conference in Nassau, Bahamas, a pall of disillusionment has descended upon the Community which has intensified over the years to the present. It now appears that the Community has entered a period of retrogression, evidenced by the high level of discontent among its citizens due to the absence of political will in the management of the Community’s affairs. Much touted meetings of the principal organs such as Conference, the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), and the Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP), amount to little more than the composition of elaborate press releases with announcements of better things to come, that end up on the agenda for the next meeting. Frustration is rife within the Community which is attempting to regain forward momentum by looking outside of the region for future progress. This mood is exemplified by Guyana’s engagement in a partial-scope trade agreement with Brazil, Dominica and others joining Alba, a non-binding political association led by Venezuela. Others are planning to form a self-serving economic cluster exemplified by Trinidad and Tobago’s initiative to coalesce with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States by 2013, in a yet to be defined political and economic union.

It is time Jamaica reviewed its destiny within Caricom and stiffened its political will to renegotiate better terms of membership for itself, if it is to remain within the regional group. Jamaica’s economic woes would continue whether it remains in Caricom or withdraws. Ideally, it should continue its Caricom membership, but under a modified treaty that provides more equitable benefits, particularly in the terms of trade, including non-discrimination in the price of regional energy and hassle-free travel for its citizens, with unfettered right of establishment, to name a few of the existing iniquitous problems.

One of the most contentious issues is Jamaica’s ballooning trade deficit with Caricom which amounted to US $1.6 billion in 2008. The major part of the deficit is owed to Trinidad and Tobago due to the alleged discriminatory pricing of energy supplied exclusively to its nationals. With highly competitive prices Trinidadian exports enter the Jamaican market duty-free, making it very difficult for Jamaican manufacturers to compete without a similar cost advantage.

A window of opportunity has presented itself for rebalancing the terms of trade related to Caricom goods. The opportunity has been created by the unfortunate existence of Jamaica’s severe balance-of-payments difficulty. The BOP problem permits developed and developing countries to apply price-based measures, that is, tariffs, according to the Balance-of-Payments Provisions of GATT 1994, and Article 43 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, as the impact on the price of imported products is transparent and measurable, and is compliant with the WTO legal system that reinforces protection to domestic production primarily through tariffs. Increased tariffs are temporary as long as the BOP problem exists and have to be removed when the problem is corrected.

The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas limits the temporary duration for such tariffs to 18 months, after which a phased withdrawal should take place. However, if the BOP is not yet rectified, a situation review would logically be conducted, after which a decision regarding the tariffs would be taken. Tariff increases within Caricom must be notified to COTED and COFAP for consultations. Quality products already manufactured in Jamaica would benefit from the increased tariffs on competing imports, and give a boost to Jamaican manufacturers while increasing national revenue at the border. Some duties have already been uplifted on luxury goods that Jamaica can ill afford at this time. Local distributors of affected items should be exhorted to resist price increases in the national interest and by the temporary nature of the additional import duties.

A re-reading of the West Indian Commission’s Report should again bring to the fore their valid proposal for the establishment of a Caribbean Commission, similar to the European Commission, to oversee implementation of decisions taken by the Conference of Heads of Government. The proposal for the establishment of such a Commission is widely supported regionally to restart and maintain the forward, and hopefully, accelerated momentum of Caribbean integration.

Caricom solidarity is essential for survival of the hemisphere’s 14 smallest territories in today’s highly competitive world, while survival may be awkward but possible through membership of another successful coalition of countries with a differing language, culture, and heritage than our Caribbean lineage.

In the WTO, as in bilateral negotiations, Caricom’s solidarity empowers presentations more effectively than individual country submissions, and permits cost sharing which is invaluable. Furthermore, potential investors are attracted to a stable, well-regulated regional group, with economies of scale necessary for successful marketing.

“Far-off pastures often look greener”, but with the shifting sands of economic power between East and West, it is prudent to remain with “the devil you know than with the devil you do not know!”