Jul 7, 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” inside the extensive Caribbean Group (CARICOM) grouping.
Browne made his assertion on the primary full day of deliberations on the two-day 49th assembly of CARICOM leaders, whereas deliberating on the agenda merchandise entitled ‘The CARICOM Single Market and Financial system (CSME)’ throughout the plenary session.
“We ought to not be handled with benign neglect as how the worldwide group treats us,” Browne stated.
The CSME permit for the free motion of products, expertise, labour and providers throughout the area and in current weeks, each St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves and St Lucia’s Opposition Chief, Allen Chastanet, have raised points relating to the remedy of the international locations of the sub-regional grouping inside CARICOM.
Gonsalves once more raised the problem throughout his contribution on Monday on the CSME voicing his disappointment on the persistent inequities confronted by the OECS inside the CSME framework. He advised his colleagues that though OECS international locations are impartial, sovereign members of CARICOM, they signed the Revised Treaty with the expectation of receiving their fair proportion of advantages, significantly underneath Chapter 7, Drawback Nations, Areas and Sectors of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC).
“That hasn’t occurred,” he said.
For his half, Prime Minister Browne stated “the OECS is just not 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 combination course of and the Revised Treaty.”
Browne stated 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, relatively than frequently missed,” he added.
Among the many points raised was the failure to totally implement the Owen Arthur Research, which highlighted the unequal distribution of advantages inside the CSME.
Prime Minister Gonsalves identified that the present tariff construction disproportionately advantages international locations 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 satisfy their obligations to the CARICOM Growth Fund (CDF), which is designed to assist much less developed member states.
Prime Minister Browne additionally endorsed Gonsalves’ feedback, significantly relating to 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 considerably impacted a number of OECS international locations, resulting in monetary instability and authorized disputes.
In 2022, Prime Minister Browne stated that Jap Caribbean international locations could must file a lawsuit towards Trinidad and Tobago for US$60 million, linked to the collapse of CLICO and BAICO.
Browne stated then that Port of Spain had made a dedication to pay US$100 million to the international locations of the Jap Caribbean Forex Union (ECCU), however solely US$40 million had been disbursed.
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