It’s not just coming, it’s here, and you might be in it…

Although never actually like the above excerpt (or at least not that I would admit in this article), conversations with UWI students and graduates reveal a somewhat patchy knowledge of the CSME. Despite correctly identifying the acronym, several were unaware that the agreement establishing the Caribbean Single Market (CSM) was actually signed this January by six Caribbean Community (Caricom) states, specifically Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname. An ironic fact given that this historic ceremony took place at the UWI Mona campus in Jamaica.

At the same time, stating categorically when the CSME was or is to be implemented, and which countries are or will be members, is something of a tricky proposition. After the first phase kick-off in Jamaica, the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines plan to join the CSM by the end of June 2006. In all, the Single Market is expected to gain 12 members by the end of 2006, with full implementation of the Single Economy geared for 2008.

But there are the inevitable hiccups and delays: like Monsterrat awaiting approval from the UK regarding the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas in order to participate, Haiti still needing to complete the process after the temporary suspension of their Caricom membership due to President Aristide’s removal, and the Bahamas’ downright refusal to join. If the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas sounds familiar it is because this peninsula in northwest Trinidad was the capital of the short-lived West Indian Federation (January 1958 – May 1962), and location for the signing of the original Treaty which established Caricom in 1973. So you see, some point out, we’ve attempted Caribbean political and economic unity before with limited success, so why try again…And in addition to the skeptics, many Caribbean people scarcely know, or for that matter care, what the CSME is about.

Why should I care?

What does a development strategy envisioned at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of Caricom Heads of Government in July 1989 in Grand Anse Grenada, have to do with everyday Caribbean people? A lot more than you might think. And if you’re a Caribbean person living abroad, a foreign national, or a Bahamian citizen about to put aside this article because your country’s not in the CSME, you may want to reconsider. The benefits and costs of this arrangement will impact anyone who has, or looks forward to having, a vested interest or investment in the Caribbean.

The CSME will change your life. Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but not really. According to Caricom’s website (www.caricom.org, see “Single Market”), the unfolding CSME is bringing some major changes to the region.

Firstly, anyone buying or selling anything in the Caribbean is going to encounter the effects of the elimination of trade barriers for good and services produced and sold within the CSME. There will also be a common tariff or duty applied across the member states to products from non-CSME countries. Once in the region, having been taxed at the first point of entry, goods from foreign countries will then be given free movement across the CSME.

The Single Economy should bring with it the free movement of capital, involving not only a truly regional stock exchange but also eliminating foreign exchange controls, and perhaps even establishing a common currency.

Right now, if you’re a university graduate, artiste, media worker, musician or sports person, you can benefit from free movement between CSME countries without a work permit, after a somewhat cumbersome process involving an application for a “Certificate of Caricom Skills Recognition.” Entrepreneurs will be able to establish Caricom-owned businesses in any CSME member state without restrictions. Provision has also been made for the transfer of social security benefits as people change residence. And for shorter visits, welcome to intra-regional travel made easier with a common machine-readable passport, already introduced in several islands, along with a common Entry/Departure form. You’ve probably already gotten that warm feeling of belonging (and shorter processing times) from standing with the locals in the “Caricom Nationals” line at ports of entry in all 12 CSME member states.

Overall, the main objectives of the CSME are to foster competitive production leading to a greater variety of products and services, the full employment of labour and more efficient exploitation of natural resources and capital, hopefully resulting in sustainable economic growth. In order to be effective, the process requires the harmonization of intra-regional systems and laws which, while underway, is a long and challenging prospect.

“…but some are more equal than others” (CSME fears).

Over and above concerns regarding the details and deadlines for the CSME’s implementation, some parties have raised objections to the initiative as a whole. Not everyone views increased competition as a good thing, especially on a distinctly un-level playing field. The fear is that local businesses, workers and products may not survive the extra-national onslaught – increasing local unemployment and poverty. States with fewer resources, less capital and capacity may continue to experience a drain of skilled persons, raw materials and investment money, this time to wealthier countries in the region. This, some argue, could leave them in the position of net-importers, perpetuating dependence and increasing the strain on the resources of the “more developed” Caribbean nations. Countries with strong currencies fear devaluation should a single currency be adopted for the region. Then there is the fear that crime, i.e. criminals and the trade in illegal guns and drugs, would also flourish in this environment of free movement.

That’s a lot of fear and uncertainty which needs to be taken seriously even as proponents of the CSME continue to march forward. One response has been a provision made for “Less Developed Countries” in the CSME to receive economic support, benefit from investment programmes, as well as programmes for economic diversification and restructuring. But is this enough?

We’re all small (Support for the CSME).

In the mean time the world is shrinking as a result of the global spread of capitalism and advancements in technology, particularly ICT. The world is now divided into new economic unions and trade blocs such as the European Union, NAFTA, CAFTA, the Andean Trade Agreement, Mercosur and others. Sandwiched between Latin America and the United States, there are really no “big” Caribbean islands. One need only look at our population size, GDP and voting quota in the IMF and World Bank, to realize that individually we are very tiny specks in the international finance ocean. Yet despite our size, we have a history of significance to global superpowers as providers of cheap labour and raw materials (with some manufactured goods and petrochemicals), consumers of their exported goods and locations for different forms of tourism.

The only way to move from being pawns on the world stage to actual players, advocates of the CSME point out, is integration. One of the CSME’s major goals is developing a Common Trade Policy – giving us a unified and therefore magnified voice in global trade negotiations. Still not convinced? Well the next time you eat a banana, consider the havoc reeked in island economies by the collapse of the banana industry after US pressure led Europe to end protective trade arrangements with their former colonies and open their markets to US-owned South American banana producers.

What does any of this have to do with UWI?

Well perhaps the Caricom Heads of Government chose the Mona campus as the venue for signing the CSME agreement because UWI and West Indies Cricket (don’t worry, won’t go there) are two of the most longstanding symbols of Caribbean integration in existence. Or perhaps they were reaffirming the crucial role of tertiary education in regional development asserted in the 1989 Grand Anse Declaration that launched this entire process. Put simply, neither the CSME, nor the overall drive toward development of which it is a part, will work effectively unless the Caribbean’s population is educated and equipped to take advantage of the opportunities in the 21st century global economy.

Who better to play a leadership role in these efforts than the Caribbean’s only regional university; the major provider of educational services to 15 countries and the primary producer of leaders in every sphere of life in the English-speaking Caribbean. In fact, UWI’s influential alumni include three of the six Heads of Government to sign the CSME agreement, the Secretary General of Caricom, Mr. Edwin Carrington, among other directors of our countries’ political and economic future.

So to meet the target set by Caricom governments of 15% enrolment of eligible students in post secondary institutions, UWI has expanded its enrolment - growing from about 22,000 students in 2000, to 35,000 in 2005 - with the highest enrolment at the St. Augustine campus in Trinidad. However in the Eastern Caribbean and other countries with UWI centres, known as the UWI-12, the rate of post secondary education is lagging behind that of the three campuses in Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados. Therefore the University is conducting Country Consultation Conferences with national community colleges, governments and businesses in each of the UWI-12 countries to identify and work toward meeting the country’s tertiary education needs.

Beyond education and training, UWI is also contributing to the CSME’s formation by collaborating with public sector leaders on the implementation of the policies, legislation and regional bodies necessary for its existence, including a Regional Development Fund, Competition Commission and Regional Accreditation Units responsible for ensuring basic quality standards in education across the region.

In order to provide these advisory services more effectively to governments, regional institutions and the business community, the University is in the process of creating a UWI Consulting Company to come on stream by August of 2006. A number of UWI Regional Centres have already been created, providing expertise in areas of great relevance to the Caribbean, such as Disaster Risk Reduction and Crime & Criminal Justice. In the same vein, the University is rationalizing and expanding its research efforts to build the region’s capacity for growth and change in light of the CSME and other global realities.

“People get ready…” More change to come.

Why should you care? Remember, the CSME will probably change your life. Whether it does so in big or small ways, for better or worse, probably depends on your current position in the Caribbean and global economies, as well as how prepared you are for all that it is likely to bring. So inform yourself about the CSME and how it works. Organise in interest groups to have your questions, concerns and suggestions addressed by your political representatives. As far as possible, equip yourself not only with knowledge, but with skills, networks, tools – whatever it takes to enable you to make use of the opportunities and handle the challenges that the CSME has to offer. Because it’s here.

Illustrations by Michelle Amoroso