Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

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Pulse of the Caribbean

an initiative led by the Ministry of Education, and the new Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation will also focus on training the trainers.

the Region’s size as a weakness that will work to our disadvantage in a completely open and free market, PM Mottley focuses instead on its unique strength. “I think that the opportunities for the Region are brilliant, quite frankly, and I am very optimistic about what we can do. The benefit of being Caribbean people is that we are a bit of everything, a mix up, a cohobblopot,” she said. “And we must always maximise the creativity and resilience that comes with this.” From the Caribbean’s geographical location, to its developing status, these can all work in our favour within the partnership, but CARIFORUM, which, by definition, is a trading mechanism, must engage again to derive these benefits. Another critical area requiring attention is data. The region has fallen short of capturing the necessary information to underlie our policies, negotiate trade more effectively, and access available development funding. Recognising that businesses, governments and countries that performwell make decisions based on data, theMottley administration will give the Barbados Statistical Service constitutional protection, enabling it, as an independent data source, to fairly collect the numbers, irrespective of the government in office. It is through effective data capturing that Regional governments will discover and effectively shape the unique tools necessary for successfully building out our societies, instead of subscribing to a “one size fits all” approach with little or no value to developing states.

CARIFORUM, Trade + Our Global Positioning

Setting Barbados on a winning course is priority, but looking further afield to the Region, PMMottley called on the Forum of the Caribbean Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states (CARIFORUM) to engage in a more meaningful way that will redound to the benefit of its member states. “There can be no [sustainable] growth for island states without trade,” she said. “Across the region, domestic policy is heavily influenced by international trade commitments and obligations, but I am not sure that our governments have done, over the years, a sufficiently good job in allowing our populations to know the symbiotic relationship that must exist between trade and domestic production.” Referencing the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), she noted that too few Regional businesses have sought out the development assistance available to them through the agreement. Commitments to the EPA will see the removal of tariffs to EU products over a 25-year phased timetable, scheduled for completion in 2033. This could result in a loss of revenue to the Region, and insufficient preparation over the past decade could be to the Region’s detriment. But as always, there is a silver lining. While some see