Editorial | CARICOM expansion

At their summit in Montego Bay last month, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders pledged to “expedite negotiations” with Bermuda for its accession to full membership of the community.

What the heads of government didn’t disclose, however, was the framework within which these talks will take place, whether with Bermuda or any other associate member wishing to upgrade its status in CARICOM, or, for that matter, any regional state interested in joining the community.

Clarity on these issues is important for several reasons, not least of which being this newspaper’s strongly held view that there should be transparency around such matters. The owners of CARICOM are the citizens of its member states. They should know upfront the basis on which decisions are being made and agreements entered into in their name.

Further, it is not only Bermuda that has declared an interest in becoming a full member of CARICOM. In recent times, the Dominican Republic has revived its application to join the community, including, unlike Bermuda, the CARICOM single market and economy (CSME), from which the internally self-governing British overseas territory wants a derogation. In other words, Bermuda doesn’t want to be bound by an obligation to the free movement of capital and labour within the community. and to a common external tariff.

Bermuda’s posture, at first blush, may be perceived to be disqualifying by strong proponents of the regional integration movement who question the additional value Bermuda can bring to CARICOM on those terms that aren’t available with its associate status.

LEGITIMATE ISSUES

These are indeed legitimate issues, which, like any expansion of CARICOM, have to be considered in the context of the existing, and emerging, global environment and the community’s history with respect to membership.

Indeed, the carve-out being sought by Bermuda wouldn’t be unique to the north Atlantic island. For example, while it is a signatory to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that established the CSME, The Bahamas - among CARICOM’s most prosperous members – didn’t, under a special agreement, accede to the single market arrangements. Similarly, Montserrat, a founding member of CARICOM, and, like Bermuda, a British overseas territory, doesn’t fully participate in the CSME.

And, like other integration movements, the CARICOM treaty allows for reservations from certain obligations, or support for so-called lesser developed members or disadvantaged countries or regions. Such conditions, though, would hardly apply to Bermuda, an island with a population of 64,000, GDP of around $7.7 billion, and per capita income of US$120,000.

Additionally, CARICOM recently revised its rules to allow a critical mass of memes to move ahead on agreed initiatives, while others can catch up later. This now only addresses long-standing concerns over slow implementation by CARICOM, but effectively establishes a community that can run on multiple tracks, depending on which alignment of members is willing and ready to proceed on a suite of projects.

But, even as CARICOM makes these practical adjustments in an effort to bring greater efficiency and substance to its operations, there is still a need for greater clarity and strategic coherence on how it approaches its future, especially with respect to expansion.

BADLY STRESSED

Even before Donald Trump’s return as the president of the United States, the existing international order was badly stressed, with erosion of the limited protections afforded to small countries like those that are members of CARICOM. In half a year, Mr Trump has turned the global environment absolutely topsy-turvy. He has upset global supply chains with his imposition of historically high tariffs on America’s trading partners, and breathed uncertainty into international institutions by pulling the United States out of several trade agreements. There is a sense of a return to 19th century style Great Power politics, underpinned by neo-mercantilism.

One lesson from this emerging Trump era is that size does indeed matter, whether in physical space or economic strength. Which underlines the logic of CARICOM.

Nonetheless, even with its current configuration of 15 full members, CARICOM is small – a total population of 19 million; GDP of US$137.6 billion, and average per capita income of just over US$7,000. But the CARICOM as an entity, acting in concert, is likely significantly stronger, and likely to be far more persuasive than Jamaica, with under three million people and GDP of less than US$20 billion, going it alone.

Which makes CARICOM’s expansion, with the possibility of sharing services, coordinating policies and speaking with a unified voice in international fora, a seemingly compelling prospect. Derogation from the CSME clearly limits opportunities for joint economic development, but the Bahamas arrangement nonetheless suggests the possibility for political synergies.

The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas says that membership of CARICOM is “open to any other state or territory (beyond the founding members) of the Caribbean region that is, in the opinion of the conference (of heads of government), able and willing to exercise the rights and assume the obligations of membership’’.

But the community has shown a willingness to offer derogation from some obligations. In the current conditions, CARICOM should be clear about its stance on expansion and what it expects new, or upgraded, members will be expected to bring to the table.