CSME is an essential element of Caribbean regional integration

Jul 16, 2017 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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The Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) is an essential element of Caribbean regional integration. The declaration by Member States of readiness to participate in the Single Market in 2006 was a critical juncture in the evolution of the Community since the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas in 1973, which gave birth to the CARICOM.
In his address to the 38th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, President Granger said; “The Grand Anse Declaration and Work Programme for the Advancement of the Integration Movement paved the way for the creation of a single economic space – the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). It was here in Grenada in 1989 that we agreed to deepen the integration process in response to the emerging geo-political order.
The CSME is the Community’s best response to the inevitable changes in its traditional markets in Europe, the prevalence of economic liberalization and the emergence of economic blocs. The CSME is still the best vehicle to allow small states to compete in the global economy while promoting economic and social development.
The CSME is the most ambitious project attempted by the Community; it must not become its most ambiguous. The CSME, especially given the present uncertainties facing the Region’s international relations, must be accelerated in order to create a single economic space”.
These remarks by President Granger were timely, but CSME can only function if there is stakeholder buy-in at all levels in the private and public sectors, Pan-Caribbean businesses, the media and immigration officers. There must also, of necessity, be political will by member states.
The CSME creates the framework for increased competiveness of our goods and services. The CSME is about closer cohesion within the Caribbean Community. Stakeholders as beneficiaries of CSME have a vital place in helping to build the platform facing the onslaught of Globalisation.

GLOBALISATION
Globalisation is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world.
Globalisation is not new. For thousands of years, people and later corporations have been buying from and selling to each other in lands at great distances, such as through the famed Silk Road across Central Asia that connected China and Europe during the Middle Ages. Likewise, for centuries, peoples and corporations have invested in enterprises in other countries. In fact, many of the features of the current wave of globalisation are similar to those prevailing before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
Globalization is a complicated issue. Supporters of globalization argue that it has the potential to make this world a better place to live in and solve some of the deep-seated problems like unemployment and poverty. On the other hand, the general complaint about globalization is that it has made the rich richer while making the non-rich poorer. “It is wonderful for managers, owners and investors, but hell on workers and nature.”
Globalization poses significant challenges to small developing economies such as those in the Caribbean, which are already dealing with a number of issues in their pursuit of sustainable development. The reduction of trade barriers and the increasing openness of these economies have not led to a significant increase in intraregional trade or helped them to obtain a growing share of the extra-regional export market; as a result, these countries’ growth potential has been limited.
CSME was intended to achieve a much broader and deeper integration than had been possible under the existing treaty and, through the development of economies of scale, to increase the competitiveness of CARICOM in the global economy.
The creation of CSME was also meant to enhance the bargaining position of CARICOM countries in international negotiations such as those at the level of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the future Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Its objectives included the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons; more intensive coordination of macroeconomic policies and economic relations; and the harmonization of laws governing trade and other economic activities within the common market area. It also provided for full application of the Common External Tariff (CET). This entailed simplifying the CET structure and reducing its level, with a view to diminishing its protectionist content.
The small size and open nature of Caribbean economies as well as their susceptibility to external shocks render them vulnerable to confront the myriad challenges and developments of the twenty-first century as separate disjointed entities.
The CSME, if implemented and operated properly, can provide a solid platform for Member States to act in concert to address issues at the national, regional and international levels, especially at a time when lines separating what is national, regional and international are increasingly becoming blurred.
The CSME also promises to be of tremendous benefit to peoples and businesses throughout CARICOM. Instead of looking at the free movement of people in a negative light, the truth is that it creates an avenue for the region to share skills while simultaneously facilitating those seeking improved standards of living and better employment prospects. Businesses also have access to a much larger market than their national markets would allow therefore, the potential to generate additional revenue and increased profit margins.
The CSME can also act as a vehicle through which the region can rationalize its production of goods and services as more Member States can now become involved in the production process. Therefore, the region can share its expertise, technology and resources to greater effect.

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