Understanding International Trade: A CARICOM Perspective

"The Integrationist is an independent policy advocacy and education organization, launched to contribute to the promotion of the work of regional integration in CARICOM. The journal, produced by the organization and bearing the same name, facilitates access to the works and contributions of the Region’s leading intellectuals and opinion makers, both within the Caribbean and in the Diaspora. In this special edition entitled Understanding International Trade: A CARICOM Perspective, the author addresses the question of whether CARICOM as a group of small states with little leverage or power in the global trading system should remain engaged in external negotiations and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). While the loss of long-standing preferential trade benefits has overshadowed the region’s trade policy for a number of years, the author states the case for the diversification of the “small mono-crop or single industry developing countries” that dominate the Caribbean; and argues that such diversification “is essential for balanced and sustained economic growth and development of CARICOM”. The text is complemented by several illustrations in the form of boxes, figures and tables which illuminate the material. "