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CARICOM
Jamaica is a founding member of CARICOM, which was established in 1968, and was built on the foundation of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA).
CARICOM SINGLE MARKET AND ECONOMY (CSME)
Against the background of a rapidly changing global economy characterized by globalization, the CARICOM Heads of Government, at their meeting in Grenada in 1989, agreed that the establishment of a CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) was the only viable option for small economies. The motivating factor was the perceived need to deepen the integration process and strengthen the Caribbean Community in all of its dimensions to respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by changes in the global economy. Chief among these, were the increasing liberalisation of trade and other economic activities, the rising phenomena of globalisation, and the emergence and expansion of regional economic blocs. The Treaty of Chaguaramas (1973) was amended to create the CSME. The 1973 Treaty was amended by the incorporations of nine separate agreements called “Protocols”. In July 2001, these Protocols were incorporated into the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, establishing CARICOM and the CSME.
The ceremonial inauguration of the CARICOM Single Market held at the University of the West Indies (Mona) Visitor’s Lodge on the 31st January 2006. Only six Caribbean Heads of Government – Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, took the historic step of formally signing the document for implementation of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM), a move towards greater regional unity. The other six Member States, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, have committed to implement the CSM by June 2006.
The creation of the CSME is regarded as a giant step taken in the creation of a trading bloc by the CARICOM Member States. This move not only consolidates the market for goods produced in the region, but also defines our trade relations with the rest of the world.
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