Trade Barriers Within the CSME: The Reality of Under-Development

The issue of barriers to regional trade is a much-debated issue, especially so in the context of the CSME where there is marked sector under-development and a distinction between MDCs and LDCs. Very often the essence of the argument lies in the so-called 'size of economies and levels of development'. The reality is however that within the CSME conscious efforts are made by Member States to achieve higher levels of economic coordination and collaboration and therefore enhanced economic growth and development. In the context of small economies there is undoubtedly need for some measure of trade policy discrimination, even within the CSME where there exists an uneven distribution of resources, and a host of vulnerable sectors and sub sectors. This paper attempts to locate the issue of barriers to regional trade within the context of the CSME. It addresses, the differences in size and levels of development of countries in the Caribbean region, resource endowments, the fragility of economic dependence on primary commodities and core sectors, and the need for trade sector support given increasing pressures to liberalize in the context of ongoing multilateral negotiations. The paper also seeks to explore in a limited context whether the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas adequately addresses issues pertaining to the sanctioning of regional trade barriers in the context of the CSME.