MONTEGO BAY, CMC – Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has raised issues that member states of the Organisation of Jap Caribbean States (OECS) are being “handled with benign neglect” throughout the broad Caribbean Group (CARICOM) grouping.
Browne made his assertion on the primary full day of deliberations on the two-day forty ninth assembly of CARICOM leaders, whereas discussing the agenda merchandise entitled “The CARICOM Single Market and Economic system (CSME)” throughout the plenary session.
“We ought to not be handled with benign neglect because the worldwide group treats us,” Browne mentioned.
The CSME permit for the free motion of products, expertise, labour and providers throughout the area and in latest weeks, each St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and St. Lucia’s Opposition Chief, Allen Chastanet, have raised points concerning the remedy of the nations of the sub-regional grouping inside CARICOM.
Gonsalves once more raised the problem throughout his contribution on Monday, voicing his disappointment on the persistent inequities confronted by the OECS throughout the CSME framework. He knowledgeable his colleagues that, though OECS nations are unbiased, sovereign members of CARICOM, they’d signed the Revised Treaty with the expectation of receiving their fair proportion of advantages, notably below Chapter 7, which addresses Deprived International locations, Areas, and Sectors, of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC).
For his half, Prime Minister Browne mentioned, “The OECS isn’t being handled correctly or pretty, regardless of our unwavering dedication to the regional integration motion.
“We don’t wish to be losers in CARICOM, and as such, sure compensatory mechanisms should be adopted to make sure the OECS advantages from the mixing course of and the Revised Treaty.”
Browne mentioned that regardless of years of constant advocacy on the matter, his issues have been ignored.
“The time has come for this subject to be addressed significantly, reasonably than regularly ignored,” he added.
Among the many points raised was the failure to totally implement the Owen Arthur Research, which highlighted the unequal distribution of advantages throughout the CSME.
Prime Minister Gonsalves identified that the present tariff construction disproportionately advantages nations like Trinidad and Tobago, giving them a dominant share of the regional manufacturing sector, whereas OECS states stay largely import-dependent.
He additionally expressed concern over the failure of bigger CARICOM states to meet their obligations to the CARICOM Improvement Fund (CDF), which is designed to help much less developed member states.
Prime Minister Browne additionally endorsed Gonsalves’ feedback, notably concerning the CLICO/BICO matter, and known as for a devoted assembly between the OECS and Trinidad and Tobago to resolve the excellent points.
The collapse of CLICO and BAICO (British American Insurance coverage Firm) in 2009 had a big impression on a number of OECS nations, resulting in monetary instability and authorized disputes.
In 2022, Prime Minister Browne mentioned that Jap Caribbean nations might must file a lawsuit towards Trinidad and Tobago for US$60 million, linked to the collapse of CLICO and BAICO.
Browne mentioned then that the Port of Spain had made a dedication to pay US$100 million to the nations of the Jap Caribbean Forex Union (ECCU), however solely US$40 million had been disbursed.
