Introduction

• Author: Kenneth Hall/Denis Benn
• Profession: Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal, University of the West Indies, Mona/Michael Manley Professor of Public Affairs and Public Policy, University of the West Indies, Mona
• Pages: 11-27

Introduction xi

The periodic review of historical processes offers a unique opportunity

to identify the factors which shape these processes and also to determine the

likely direction of change in the future.

Viewed in this perspective, the 30th anniversary of the establishment

of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2003 marked an important

milestone in the historical evolution of regional integration in the Caribbean.

It therefore provides an excellent opportunity to assess progress made in the

integration movement, to identify the challenges which lie ahead, and

more particularly, to advance policy options for dealing with these

challenges.

Since its establishment in 1973, a number of significant developments

have taken place within CARICOM and the wider international system

within which it functions.

Within the Community itself, important steps have been taken to widen

its membership and to deepen the process of integration. In terms of the

former, the accession of Suriname and Haiti as members has increased the

size of the Community from 13 to 15 members. This development has a

number of implications since not only has the accession of these countries

resulted in a significant increase in the population of the Community (from

just over 5 million to approximately 14 million) but it has also, for the first

time, expanded the membership of the Community beyond its original

English-speaking core, given the fact that Suriname is Dutch-speaking and

Haiti French-speaking.

Regarding the deepening of the integration process, a number of

decisions have been taken which are designed to strengthen the process of

economic integration as well as functional cooperation among the member

states of the Community. In this context, efforts have been made to

strengthen the coordination of foreign policy within the Community,

including the joint sponsorship of candidates for elective and/or appointed

positions in international bodies. Similarly, the Community has embarked

on a number of major initiatives designed to promote a comprehensive

programme of human and social development which encompasses activities

in areas such as education, health, labour, youth development, HIV/AIDS,

reduction in drug use, crime and violence. Special attention has also been

paid to finance and planning, given the importance of these issues in the

economic development of the Community. Finally, trade and economic

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xii CARIBBEAN IMPERATIVES

development have received increasing attention both in terms of intra-

CARICOM relations and in respect of relations between the Community and

the rest of the international system, as is attested by the expanded agenda

of the Council for Trade and Development (COTED).

With regard to intra-CARICOM relations, two of the most important

initiatives being pursued by the Community relate to the proposed

establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and

the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

The CSME is of special significance since it not only provides an

opportunity for further trade expansion in the region, but also has

considerable potential to promote an integrated pattern of production based

on the optimal utilisation of the human and physical resources in the region

and thus to maximise its development possibilities. In this context, it should

be pointed out that, while a strict focus on the size of the population of the

Community might suggest that it is still relatively small compared to other

integration movements, judged by its natural endowments (oil, natural

gas, bauxite/alumina, gold and diamonds, agricultural and forestry

resources), together with its considerable tourism infrastructure, few other

economic entities of comparable size could boast of such a wide range of

resources. This reality points to the significant potential for the Community

to embark on a dynamic strategy of production integration that could be

the key to its future economic prosperity.

The CCJ is also seen as a necessary complement to the creation of the

CSME since it will be responsible for the arbitration of trade-related disputes

among member states — a pre-requisite for the effective functioning of the

Single Market and Economy. While the CCJ has provoked debate in some

countries on issues such as the constitutional entrenchment of the Court as

well as the possible need for a referendum on whether it should be established

(and if so whether it should have an original as well as an appellate

jurisdiction) arrangements are actively being put in place for its

establishment in 2005.

The integration process is taking place within a rapidly changing

international economic environment shaped inexorably by the twin forces

of globalisation and economic liberalization and in the context of ongoing

negotiations in respect of the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement with special

reference to the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) for the

Caribbean, the proposed hemispheric free trade arrangement to be embodied

in the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA); as well as the

negotiations in the wider international arena taking place within the WTO.

The move towards the creation of a liberalised global trading regime

implicit in the various negotiations which is premised on the removal of the

preferential trading arrangements traditionally granted to the member

states of the Community, has forced the countries of the region to seek to