CARICOM Nations Sign Single Market Instrument

The bold step towards the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM) and eventually CARICOM Single Market & Economy (CSME) was taken at the bastion of Caribbean unity, UWI Mona, on January 30 with the signing in Jamaica of the protocol to the implementation of the single market.

Speaking at the event, host Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson of Jamaica stated that the signing of the document was a moment in which Caribbean people can take considerable pride. He insisted that the single market would make the region stronger in international trade negotiations and increase economic growth and employment.

Despite the optimism about the overall effect of the creation of a single market, there are warnings coming from some quarters.

Senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies (UWI) says the CARICOM Single Market (CSM) will result in impoverishment of unskilled workers, as only the most elite will be able to move across the region freely.

Six countries (Jamaica, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago) signed the inaugural protocols, while six other nations (Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines) are expected to jump on the bandwagon on June 30.