The Integration

Movement
WHAT IS REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN THE CARIBBEAN?

 Regional integration in the Caribbean refers to a series of attempts by Caribbean states to

form a union in an attempt to create a political, economic, cultural or trade block that
would better enable them to meet the needs of the Caribbean people and to provide
combined political and economic weight gain recognition and influence on the
international scene.
 The movement towards regional integration in the Caribbean is often seen as being
initiated by Britain in the 1950s in the form of the west Indian federation to promote
Caribbean economic and political cooperation.
 Growing Caribbean industries, such as petroleum in Trinidad and bauxite in Jamaica, also
absorbed a large portion of the Caribbean labour force and gave confidence to workers
that the Caribbean was a place of growing opportunities.
 Many regional integration movements over the years have been responses to increased
globalisation and the perceived need for smaller states to work together to protect their
interests, economically speaking. They have also aimed to educate Caribbean nationals in
matters of regional importance.
FACTORS THAT HINDER REGIONAL INTEGRATION
Why, then, is the movement towards the development of the region socially, politically and economically through
integration not as advanced as it could be? And why are organizations set up to promote integration so frequently
unpopular in individual states? The answer lies in nationalism and diversity which can result from and manifest
themselves in the following ways:
 Conflicts exist between territorial and regional demand
 territories do not have the same currency territories do not have the same types or amounts of resources territories
have incompatible of different political system
 territories have dissimilar economic policies territories have differences in their social and racial make up giving
rise to very basic differences in value system beliefs approaches and priorities
 territories are scattered over the region
 members of an organization may be unwilling to corporate for various reasons to do with protection of their own
interest autonomy jealousies competitiveness and so on
 territories are at different stages of development which gives rise to differences in priorities and concern about
economic disparity especially among the more developed territories who are reluctant to use their resources to
support those that are less developed.
 The evolution of the idea of Caribbean
integration

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

West Indies federation

 The West Indies federation WIF in bracket came into being in January 1958 as an attempt
to create a political union among British colonies, with the exception of Guyana, beliefs,
the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.
 A regional economic committee was also set up to investigate means of achieving
economic unity. Britain retained responsibility for defence, external affairs and financial
stability.
The thinking behind the WIF involved:

 a desire to strengthen the movement towards self-government with the hope that the political union would
eventually become independent of Britain (in the belief that small individual territories could only achieve
this together as a group);
 a desire to strengthen internal and regional development by establishing federal institutions and supporting
regional structures, for example the development of the University of the West Indies and the establishment
of the Regional Shipping Service;
 the fact that federation was among the measures taken by the British government for better administration of
the colonies and to save on administrative costs.
 Elections for seats in the House of Representatives were held in March 1958 with the West Indies
Federal Labour Party (WIFLP) supported by N.W. Manley, Eric Williams and Grantley Adams
gaining more seats than the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) supported by Sir Alexander Bustamante
and Sir Stanley Eugene Gomes.
The reasons for its failure were many:

 The masses were not educated in the meaning and importance of federation. Many did not understand
what it meant or how it worked and this insecurity was played on by anti-federation politicians, such
as Bustamante in Jamaica who argued that it was a ploy by the British to prolong colonisation.

 The federal government had very little or no authority as individual territories were unwilling to give
up their own power and the largest territories of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago vied for leadership.

 Envy and jealousy reigned among the states because of their varying degrees of economic
development and prosperity and of the location of the capital in Trinidad.

 The insecurities of the smaller states persisted, as they feared the potential takeover of the organisation
by Jamaica and Trinidad, especially after they proposed to prematurely change the constitution of the
Federation.
 This integration step was mainly a political one and it lasted only four years.
 After a referendum in 1961, Jamaica withdrew. After the withdrawal of Jamaica, Eric Williams,
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, famously stated that ‘one from ten leaves zero’, and
Trinidad and Tobago also withdrew because the withdrawal of Jamaica, which was one of the
region’s largest economies at the time, made the aims of the movement seem futile. The
remaining eight territories tried to continue for a few years, but their attempt collapsed. As a
result of its withdrawal, Jamaica itself embarked on the journey towards full independence.
Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA)

 CARIFTA was created in 1968 following independence of a number of former British colonies –
Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Barbados. These new states were concerned with
issues such as nationalism, self-determination and economic development. It was in response to
this last concern that CARIFTA was established.

 The aim of CARIFTA was to promote economic and social development in the Caribbean
region by encouraging free trade among members. This meant the removal of custom duties,
taxes and licensing arrangements that had prevented greater volumes of trade among the
territories for goods produced within the region. Membership comprised the former members
of WIF plus Belize and Guyana.
CARIFTA faced a number of challenges:

 High unemployment rates and poverty in some member states and a wide disparity among members
in terms of per capita income hindered an even distribution of economic benefits.

 A lack of authority and the means to implement regional decisions.

 Leadership issues, with Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica once again vying for the position of leader.
 Successes included the establishment of the Caribbean Development Bank and the CARIFTA
games, but it failed to meet its main aim of facilitating free trade among member states. These
member states decided to expand and deepen cooperation by forming CARICOM.
Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)

 CARICOM was created by the Treaty of Chaguaramas, signed on 4 July 1973 by Jamaica,
Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana. It began operation on 1 August 1973. Currently, membership
includes CARIFTA members as well as Haiti and Suriname.
 CARICOM was conceived as a stronger form of integration than CARIFTA, with three pillars:
economic integration (a common market in goods); functional cooperation (for example in
health and education); and foreign policy coordination. By the 1980s economic integration had
stalled and so in 1989 the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas established the Caribbean Single
Market Economy (CSME). A new governance structure was put in place and the Caribbean
Court of Justice created. Security was added as the 4th pillar of integration in 2007. The
CARICOM Single Market was offi cially inaugurated in 2006, but completion of the Single
Economy is still to be achieved.
 The aim of CARICOM is to be both an economic and a political force in the Caribbean,
promoting economic, political and human development.
Stated Strategic priorities :

 Building economic resiliance (stabilisation and sustainable economic growth and

development);
 Building social resilience (equitable human and social development);
 Building environmental resilience;
 Building technical resilience;
 Strengthening the CARICOM identity and spirit of community;
 Strengthening governance.
Aims to achieve these through activities:

 Improving economic development by extending free trade and free movement of

skilled workers through the CSME. Although free trade had been established under
CARIFTA, it did not succeed in facilitating the free movement of labour and capital
or in coordinating agricultural, industrial and foreign policies;
 the formulation of the Caribbean Court of Justice as a local final appellate court that
would nullify appeals to the Privy Council in England. This court has already
successfully tried and judged cases involving disputes among member states and
citizens of member states; the most high-profile being the Shanique Myrie case of
2013;
 Enabling functional cooperation in areas such as health, education, culture,
broadcasting, transport, meteorological services, technical assistance and disaster
management;
 Establishing common policies in dealing with non-member states and transnational
cooperation.