CARICOM Trade Ministers Agree to Advance Commercial Ties with the U.S.

Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-US trade relations got a big boost last week as a result of a decision by the two sides to rekindle a long-dormant Trade and Investment Council (TIC).

This decision was reached at a meeting last week of CARICOM Trade Ministers with United States Trade Representative Rob Portman in Washington, D.C.

The CARICOM-US TIC was established in the early 1990s, with Ambassador Bernal, Jamaica´s Ambassador to the US at the time, serving as lead spokesperson for CARICOM in that forum.

The concept of a revitalized Council is being put forward as that architecture needs to take account of “new circumstances.” The Council will enable consideration of a wide-range of trade- and investment-related issues.

A top priority issue on the agenda, the two sides discussed the status of the request by the United States for a renewal (until September 30, 2008) of the current World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver for the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), which expired on December 31 last year.