Caribbean nations are pushing to expand trade with Africa in the face of growing uncertainty with traditional partners like the United States, Canada, and Europe, the head of the region’s political and economic bloc said on Monday.
“We must decisively open the door to greater trade between our regions,” said Carla Barnett, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), during the opening of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Grenada.
CARICOM’s trade with the African continent currently makes up less than 3% of its total trade, Reuters reported.
Barnett emphasized the need to grow that figure, especially as the region faces unpredictable changes in its trade relationships with long-standing partners.
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The move comes as the United States, CARICOM’s largest trading partner, has ramped up trade restrictions.
In April, Washington imposed a baseline 10% tariff on almost all of its trade partners.
The U.S. has also used its economic influence to pressure Caribbean countries over domestic matters, including their use of Cuban medical professionals and their citizenship-by-investment programs.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), the U.S. purchased 25% of the Caribbean bloc’s $38.8 billion in exports in 2023 and accounted for 39% of its $43.4 billion in imports.
The Caribbean remains vulnerable to global economic disruptions, such as inflation and pandemics, due to its heavy dependence on tourism, food and fuel imports, and its exposure to climate-related disasters.
Barnett noted that Caribbean nations have already partnered with Africa in campaigns, so far unsuccessful, demanding slavery reparations from former colonial powers and compensation from wealthy nations for climate change, which disproportionately affects small island states.
Image Credit: allAfrica.com
