Elizabeth Morgan | Is a CARICOM meeting with the Trump administration imminent?

THERE ARE reports in the media, following the conclusion of the 48th CARICOM Heads of Government Conference on February 21, that CARICOM heads requested a meeting with President Donald Trump. This idea seems to come from remarks made by Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda during the concluding press conference. There is nothing about an invitation in the conference communiqué which, under the heading ‘Geopolitical Developments’, states:

“Heads of Government discussed current geopolitical developments and agreed that the Community should take steps to safeguard its market access with key trading partners, strengthen internal trade arrangements and further diversify its external trade arrangements.”

We have to assume that CARICOM heads had a comprehensive discussion about the general shifts in policy positions of the Trump administration. Besides trade, from the communiqué it is not clear what CARICOM heads discussed on the positions of the Trump administration and what decisions were taken, if any.

REQUEST FOR A MEETING WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP

In November 2024, at the COP 29 climate change meeting, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley proposed a meeting with then President-elect Donald Trump.

In addition to the remarks by PM Gaston Browne, it seems that at the CARICOM Heads press conference, PM Mottley told reporters that there had been discussions with President Trump’s special envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mauricio Claver-Carone, and it was anticipated that there would be a high-level meeting soon.

We do know that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken with the president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, and the prime minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness.

From reporting in the Miami Herald, we have learnt that Rubio is scheduled to visit select CARICOM countries in the very near future. The reporter, Jacqueline Charles, informed that special envoy Claver-Carone said that plans were being finalised. The visit, seemingly this month, could include Jamaica, Guyana, and Barbados or Suriname.

So, this would not be a meeting with the CARICOM Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), the region’s foreign ministers.

ITEMS ON THE AGENDA

The possible items on the meeting agenda were set out in this column on February 20, under the title ‘48th CARICOM Heads Conference: Addressing current geopolitical issues’. These were security, immigration, trade, overseas development aid, Haiti, climate change and finance, and other bilateral and multilateral issues.

Recently, a new issue was placed on the agenda by the US, which is the medical missions from Cuba. Countries in CARICOM have been cooperating with Cuba, and an important sector of cooperation is healthcare. The US has imposed tougher sanctions on the Cuban medical programmes, classifying these programmes as human trafficking and forced labour. The US is threatening to apply tougher sanctions, denying and revoking the US visas of those involved in these programmes.

Marco Rubio and Mauricio Claver-Carone are both Americans of Cuban ancestry, and they can be expected to tighten the screws on Cuba to further weaken that regime.

IS CARICOM READY FOR THESE MEETINGS?

The hope is that CARICOM Heads took the time to properly address the situation of the shifting policies emerging from the USA under the Trump administration and their implications for the region. Developments in the USA require constant monitoring as Trump policies, domestic and foreign, are making a drastic shift away from the US norm.

It is reported that the COFCOR has had meetings, and it is for them to advise the heads. We would also hope that preparations are informed by the ambassadors in Washington, DC who have been holding consultations with members of the administration, members of Congress, and others to gather information and signal concerns. At the national levels, preparations must be ongoing with consultations with stakeholders and with the US embassies in capitals. Ambassadors may not have been appointed as yet, but there are chargé d’affaires. In the political arena, the region’s Opposition representatives and parliamentarians should be examining these critical developments.

CARICOM should endeavour to have coordinated positions. Members should be proposing that the secretary of state meet with COFCOR. However, if this cannot be agreed, the region should aim to avoid a situation of divide and rule at the national levels.

In terms of the countries which Marco Rubio will visit, Barbados, the current chair of CARICOM, should be among those to be visited.

When Secretary of State Marco Rubio, accompanied by Mauricio Claver-Carone, comes to the region, it is expected that all meetings will be civil and respectful, observing the time-honoured rules of diplomacy.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com