Jamaica fully prepared for CSME

Tuesday, April 5, 2005

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Jamaica is fully prepared for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) having instituted all the legal and administrative requirements to facilitate the implementation of the Single Market aspect of the process.

With the onset of globalisation in the 1980s the region found itself having to compete with larger and more developed markets and recognized that a unified Caribbean community would have to be the way forward if the region were to survive.

The CSME was established by the Conference of Heads of Government in Grenada in 1989, with amendments to the Treaty of Chaguaramas and the negotiation of nine Protocols.

The provisions of the nine Protocols, which have now been incorporated into the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, cover: institutions and structures; establishment, services and capital; industrial policy; trade policy; agricultural policy; transport policy; disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors; competition policy and consumer protection; and dumping and subsidies and disputes settlement.

Jamaica has enacted the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas into domestic law and has established a CSME Unit within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade along with an Inter-Ministerial Consultative Committee to coordinate the implementation process. 

This committee comprises ministerial and other representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Security, Agriculture, Commerce, Science and Technology, Finance and Planning, Labour and Social Security and the Attorney General’s Department.

“Under the Free Movement of Persons category, Jamaica has already enacted the Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Skilled Persons) Act, 1997 entitling five groups of CARICOM Nationals and their dependents to offer services in Jamaica without the need for work permits,” Head of the CSME Unit, Robert Miller tells JIS News. 

Mr. Miller says that the CSME, under the Revised Treaty, enables university graduates, media workers, sports persons, artistes and musicians and also self-employed persons engaged in activities of a commercial, industrial or agricultural nature, to establish a business in any other member state without restrictions. It entitles these five categories and their dependents to offer services in Jamaica without work permits. 

Regionally, agreement has been reached on the implementation of two lines at the ports of entry, one for CARICOM nationals and the other for non-CARICOM nationals, which Jamaica has already complied with. 

“The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas provides for the establishment of a regime for trade in services similar to the trade in goods and the government has taken action towards meeting its commitment for the Right of Establishment and Provision of Services by CARICOM nationals,” Mr. Miller says.

The CSME will also aid entrepreneurs to transfer money to another country without having to obtain prior authorization, the right to buy shares in any company in any member state and access to a wider pool of skilled persons from which to recruit.

“The establishment of the CSME is intended to assist member CARICOM states to achieve national objectives such as sustained economic development and expansion of trade, full employment of all the factors of production, improved standards of living and work and effective economic relations with other countries,” he points out.

He adds that the implementation of all the major elements of the CSME will result in a single, seamless economic space within which all transactions will take place. As such, another aspect of the CSME that is in progress is the establishment of a Regional Accreditation Body, to oversee accreditation and equivalency of degrees, diplomas, certificates and other qualifications.

Turning to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and its importance to the functioning of the CSME, Mr. Miller expresses the hopes that the CCJ will now function in its original jurisdiction as a trade court, following the recent ruling of the Privy Council. The court will be charged with the interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty and exercise exclusive jurisdiction with respect to dispute settlement, mediation, conciliation and arbitration.

Mr. Miller argues that the benefits of the CSME to Jamaica far outweigh the challenges. “Improved ability to recruit skilled workers from across the region and for increased job opportunities for all CARICOM nationals, enhanced access to specialized training and technology transfer serving to expand the knowledge base and capacity building skills of various sectors,” are a few of the benefits that he outlines. 

The establishment of the CSME, will also encourage regional institutions to strengthen collaboration in policy development and information sharing with respect to human and social development at all levels. Mr. Miller notes that harmonization of standards and quality across the region will apply to goods and services. He points out that in July 2004, the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in medical and other health professions was inaugurated and currently applies to six member states including Jamaica.

Mr. Miller adds that the CSME will promote a greater sense of regional identity and cross-cultural interaction and individuals, communities and groups stand to benefit from greater exposure to cultural norms and practices from across the region. There will also be a wider range of goods and services to choose from with improved quality based on increased competition.

According to Mr. Miller, “small business development, niche marketing, the formation of partnerships and joint ventures, job creation and poverty eradication complemented by access to training,” can only add to the enhancement of the quality of life in each territory.

Any major undertaking of the magnitude of the CSME will encounter a number of challenges and this venture was no different. The main challenge faced is capacity constraints due to small size and varying levels of development of member states. However, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago have decided to go ahead and implement the body, with the other nations to come on incrementally. 

According to Mr. Miller, “another challenge is the resistance to change that some stakeholders are expected to demonstrate towards the enhanced efficiency under the changes required by the CSME.” He adds, “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade is already engaged in facilitating partnerships between civil society and private sector groups at a national and sectoral level.”

Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago are also been fully compliant since January 1, 2005 and the other member states are expected to complete the implementation process by January 2006. 

The CSME is providing a common platform that will better enable CARICOM to speak with a common voice in crucial trade negotiations in the various international fora in which the countries of the region are involved.

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