CARICOM in Multilateral Trade Negotiations

• Author: Emalene Marcus-Burnett
• Pages: 367-380

CARICOM IN MULTILATERAL

TRADE NEGOTIATIONS

Emalene Marcus-Burnett

25

Introduction

‘Globalisation is both an opportunity and

a threat…’ Chunzheng Wang, 20011

Trade is important to all countries, but

is especially so for the CARICOM region,

which has higher trade openness ratios when

compared to other groupings.2 Jessen and

Vignoles (2004), have calculated CARICOM’s

overall trade openness ratio at 97%, compared

to 39% for the Andean Community and 26%

for MERCOSUR.3 Given this high degree

of openness, trade policy is an indispensable

element in national growth strategies;

making successful involvement in bi-lateral,

hemispheric and multilateral negotiations of

critical national importance.

This chapter will examine the approaches

taken by CARICOM countries during the

Uruguay and Doha Rounds of negotiations, to

ascertain the relative successes and limitations,

as well as to elucidate on strategic options

moving forward. The region’s use of diplomacy

– which is arguably a key instrument that enables

small states to manoeuvre in a sometimes

hostile world – will also be examined. This

chapter focuses on trade negotiations at the

multilateral level, given its all-encompassing

nature; the inherent disadvantages facing small

states in such negotiations; and the need to

f‌ind creative approaches to meander through

what can sometimes be diff‌icult processes.

After a brief overview of the contextual

framework of the Uruguay and Doha Rounds,

an examination will be made of CARICOM’s

participation in these negotiations, approaches

adopted and the successes and challenges

therein. The f‌inal section will elaborate on the

way forward, taking into account the changing

dynamics in multilateral negotiations. The

chapter does not delve into the specif‌ics of the

current and proposed agreements covering the

sectors of importance to the region, since these

have been examined elsewhere.

I. The Contextual Framework

We are not a closed organisation. Just the

opposite. We are an organisation whose

fundamental objective is greater interna-

tional openness and cooperation....

Renato Ruggiero, 1999 4

It is necessary to set the contextual

framework of the multilateral negotiating

environment into which CARICOM countries

entered. Off‌icially launched in Punta del Este,

Uruguay, on 20 September 1986, the Uruguay

Round of negotiations was the eighth and last

round of negotiations conducted under the

auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs

and Trade (GATT). At the launch of the

Uruguay Round (UR) negotiations, the GATT

had 92 Contracting Parties, which included

all CARICOM countries except Antigua and

Barbuda, the Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, St

Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent

and the Grenadines. As former British

colonies, however, a de facto application of