The countries of the Western Hemisphere are the natural trading partners of Jamaica and other Caricom countries. The USA is a principal trading partner of nearly every country in the hemisphere. Jamaica has a trade deficit with nearly every country in the hemisphere, except Canada. It would certainly stimulate growth were Jamaica able to increase exports of goods and services into the countries of the western hemisphere.

From the 1990s, Caricom, led by Trinidad and Tobago, was interested in expanding trade with countries within the hemisphere and, particularly, in Latin America. Caricom was thus interested in the premise on which the Summit of the Americas was initiated — that promoting free trade could strengthen hemispheric relations.

The Summits of the Americas commenced in 1994 within the framework of the Organization of American States (OAS) to be the vehicle for strengthening relations among the countries, except Cuba, through promoting trade.

At the second Summit (1998), negotiations were launched for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). These negotiations at the outset were approached largely with optimism. Regrettably, before the scheduled conclusion at the fourth Summit (2005), the FTAA hit an iceberg and was consigned to the deep freeze due to disagreements between countries in Latin America and the USA.

In fact, as a rival to the FTAA, Venezuela, in 2004, launched the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA). Members would include Caricom countries. It would also be recalled that Venezuela, by 2005, introduced the PetroCaribe alliance to support Caribbean countries facing rising oil prices.

As a note, just as the FTAA was being launched in 1994, the 25-member Association of Caribbean States (ACS), headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago, was established. So, within the hemisphere, there are layers of organisations and alliances.

By the sixth Summit (2012), held in Colombia, Brazil and Venezuela had moved to create the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which would have all 33 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries as members, including Cuba. Following agitation from within the LAC and with a thawing of relations with the USA, Cuba would attend the 7th Summit of the Americas (2015) in Panama.

The only summit held in the Caribbean, the fifth (2009), in Trinidad and Tobago, was held amid the global financial crisis and the election of Barack Obama as US president. The theme was ‘Securing Our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy and Environmental Sustainability’. This summit did not go according to plan. There were diversions created by Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and the US/Cuba trade embargo issue. As bullish as Trinidad and Tobago was on trade, it could not be the focus of this summit.

From 2005 trade was a muted issue at the Summits of the Americas. It was at the sixth Summit (2012), in Colombia, that a government/private sector forum was introduced to enable discussions on trade and investments — the CEO Summit.

Caricom heads of government continued to attend the summits in significant numbers. These events provided opportunities for networking and for meetings with other leaders. It became a custom for Caricom heads to meet briefly with the US president and the Canadian prime minister in the margins of the summits.

As the years progressed, Caricom’s collective interest in trade negotiations within Latin America (eg, Central America and MERCOSUR) waned and free trade negotiations with Canada stalled. This came at a time when the expansion of the Panama Canal gave rise to aspirations to create trade-based logistics hubs within the Caribbean region, especially in Jamaica.

At the 8th Summit of the Americas, in Peru (April 13-14, 2018), it was noted that only 17 heads of government attended, with four coming from Caricom (Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, and St Lucia). President Donald Trump was the first US President not to attend. The summit’s theme was ‘Democratic Governance Against Corruption’ and discussions on trade were again left to the CEO Summit and bilateral engagements.

The third government/private sector CEO Summit was held April 12 – 13. It was addressed by the prime ministers of Jamaica and the Bahamas. There seems to be a view that this session, organised with Inter-American Development Bank support, was very Latin American-oriented with the English-speaking Caribbean feeling on the margins.

It is reported that, following tradition, there were brief meetings between Caricom leaders and US Vice-President Mike Pence and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Caricom/Canada meeting seems to have addressed development support and the G7 Summit to be held in Quebec in June — to which Caricom was invited.

Reports also indicate that the issue of Venezuela dominated the summit and bilateral meetings. In addition, countries had come to the meeting wary of the USA stance, given troubling pronouncements on US policy and positions from the Trump Administration.

For Jamaica and other Caricom partners, promoting trade and investment is effectively left to bilateral engagements. There seems to be a renewed interest in Mexico, Panama and other Central American countries. Regionally, as CELAC appears also to be in limbo due to the Venezuela impasse and political uncertainties in other leading countries, eg, Brazil, trade discussions, in that context, are not likely to gather momentum. The trade possibilities in the ACS also seem bleak. Given current policies in the USA and Canada, trade relations most likely will continue to reflect the status quo, bearing in mind that the Caribbean Basin Initiative expires in 2020 and the World Trade Organization waiver for CARIBCAN in 2023.

Without trade as its raison d’être, and given the current political tensions in the hemisphere, the Summit of the Americas, as a meaningful forum for engagement on economic, social and political issues, is on a dumpy road. It would be regrettable to see the summit dissolve eliminating the only mechanism which brings together leaders of the countries of the Western Hemisphere.

Vice-President Pence offered the USA as the venue for the 2021 summit. This could be an effort to demonstrate the US’s continuing interest and to re-exert influence as China and other countries continue making inroads into what was supposed to be the US’s sphere of influence.

It is unfortunate that the countries of the Americas are not able to form a strong alliance with trade and investment as central pillars for cooperation. For Jamaica, there still seems to be wariness of trade with Latin America, with language, culture, internal regulations, transportation links and ability to compete being seen as major barriers to trade. For the future, Jamaica and Caricom partners will have to reflect further on changing positions and policies within the hemisphere and on means of overcoming trade barriers in order to strengthen relations with these neighbours.

In conclusion, note that relations within the LAC are relevant to the upcoming African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States/European Union Post-Cotonou negotiations as the EU has been promoting closer cooperation with CELAC.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade and politics. Send comments to the Observer or elizabethmorganstliz@gmail.com.