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107-635: A precursor to CARICOM and its CSME was the Caribbean Free Trade Agreement , formed in 1965 and dissolved in 1973. The CSME will be implemented through a number of phases, first being the CARICOM Single Market (CSM). The CSM was initially implemented on 1 January 2006, with the signing of the document for its implementation by six original member states. However the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing

214-431: A Protocol and extended to all CARIFTA members in 1970) respectively. Overall for CARIFTA members intra-CARIFTA trade went from accounting for around 6% of total domestic exports in 1967 to constituting 9% of domestic exports in 1970 (total domestic imports from intra-CARIFTA trade remained general stable at around 5%), even as the share trade with more traditional markets fluctuated and generally declined: Broken down by

321-506: A commercial, industrial, agricultural or artisanal nature. Non-Wage Earners are self-employed CARICOM Nationals (juridical as well as natural persons) who have the right to work as self-employed persons in the C.S.M.E. and these persons can move to another Member State to establish a business or to provide a service on temporary basis. Such nationals may create and manage economic enterprises, including any type of organization which they own or control (e.g. sole proprietorship, company, etc.) for

428-752: A court of last resort for Member States of the Caribbean Community of the Privy Council, the CCJ was vested with an original jurisdiction in respect of the interpretation and application of the Treaty Establishing the Caribbean Community (Treaty of Chaguramas) In effect, the CCJ would exercise both an appellate and an original jurisdiction. In the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction, the CCJ considers and determines appeals in both civil and criminal matters from common law courts within

535-403: A former US president. The tenure of Ms Pierre-Louis, whose social-activist brother-in-law was assassinated in 1998, may conceivably mark a turning-point in the country's long battle with extreme poverty, bloody confrontation and deep-rooted social injustice. After a year senators from Préval's party complained that people's living standards were not improving. Others thought it was unfair to place

642-556: A majority vote consisting of two-thirds of the member territories. Besides administering the CARIFTA Agreement, the council was also empowered to settle disputes arising from the CARIFTA Agreement (whether between member territories for originating from within a member territory) and thus it also acted as tribunal when necessary. In that way it could authorize any member territory to take interim safe-guard measures and suspend its obligations towards another member territory if

749-561: A meeting on July 4, 1965, between the Prime Ministers of Barbados and British Guiana ( Errol Barrow and Forbes Burnham respectively) to discuss the possibility of establishing a free trade area between the two territories, which at the time were moving towards independence from the United Kingdom. The discussions revolved around establish a free trade area between only those two countries initially and then extending it to

856-685: A member of the Association (and had promised to take the necessary steps to become so) in February 1969 at a Commonwealth Caribbean Heads of Government Conference in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean Free Trade Association was created to improve relations between the various Caribbean islands. One of the reasons of the formation of the CARIFTA was to increase the quota and variety of goods able to be sold. Specifically, CARIFTA

963-535: A special summit on the CSME, it was announced that Haiti intends to have in place the necessary legislative and administrative framework for duty free trading in goods by October 2019 to enable its full integration into the CSME by 2020. Current full members of CARICOM and signatory for (and de facto participant of) the CSME: Montserrat was awaiting entrustment (approval) of the United Kingdom with regards to

1070-419: A step further to facilitate travel by Haitian businesses persons and agreed that Haitians possessing US and Schengen visas would not require visas to enter other Caricom member states. In regards to participation in the free movement of skilled nationals, Haiti has also been included in the relevant legislation of at least some CSME states as a participating member state. In 2018 at both a meeting of COTED and at

1177-513: A three-fold increase with imports increasing from EC$ 1.862 billion in 1966 to EC$ 7.141 billion in 1974 (a 284% increase) and exports increasing from EC$ 1.4 billion to EC$ 6.3 billion (a 350% increase) over the same period. This indicates that CARIFTA was successful in creating trade rather than merely diverting trade with the Free Trade Area. On November 26, 1969 the central banks of Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago jointly announced

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1284-487: Is Free Circulation. This provision allows for the free movement of goods imported from extra regional sources which would require collection of taxes at first point of entry into the CSME and for the sharing of collected customs revenue. (Sources; JIS website on the CSME at and CARICOM website on the CSME at) Complementary to the free movement of goods will be the guarantee of acceptable standards of these goods and services. To accomplish this, CARICOM members have established

1391-544: Is not required to obtain a Free Movement of Skill Certificate , however Service Providers must obtain a Certificate of Registration as a CARICOM Service Provider . Affiliated with the right of establishment is the right to move the Technical, Supervisory and Managerial staff of such entities, as well as their spouses and immediate dependent family members. Persons within any of these five (5) named classes are not allowed to move in their own right unless they fall under one of

1498-538: Is one of among six states (Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago) in which agreement is already in force. The Bahamas has also signed on to the Agreement. Region-wide accreditation has also been planned for vocational skills. Currently local training agencies award National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) or national Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) certification, which are not valid across Member States. However, in 2003,

1605-882: Is the Highest regional Court established by the Agreement Establishing in the Caribbean Court of Justice. It has a long gestation period commencing in 1970 when the Jamaican delegation at the Sixth Heads of Government Conference, which convened in Jamaica, proposed the establishment of a Caribbean Court of Appeal in substitution for the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Caribbean Court of Justice has been designed to be more than

1712-694: Is therefore not a full participant in the Single Market and Economy. In keeping with the thrust to rebuild the country following the 2010 earthquake and earlier 2004 political crisis , work has also continued on preparing Haiti to participate effectively in the CSME. It is being assisted in its preparations by the Secretariat, led by the CARICOM Representation Office in Haiti (CROH) which was re-opened in 2007 with funding from

1819-481: The CARIFTA Games . In 1985, a similar set of games, The CARIFTA Aquatics Championships, started. Mich%C3%A8le Pierre-Louis Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis (born 5 October 1947) is a Haitian politician who was Prime Minister of Haiti from September 2008 to November 2009. She was Haiti's second female prime minister, after Claudette Werleigh , who served from 1995 to 1996. Pierre-Louis has been

1926-946: The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) following a decision, at the Seventh Heads of Government Conference in October 1972, to transform CARIFTA into a Common Market and establish the Caribbean Community of which the Common Market would be an integral part. At the Eighth Heads of Government Conference in April 1973, the Georgetown Accord was adopted, which set out the details of how CARIFTA was to be replaced by CARICOM. The Treaty of Chaguaramas declared that CARIFTA would cease to exist on 1 May 1974 when

2033-551: The Dickenson Bay Agreement, was May 15, 1967. However, as a result of shuttle diplomacy engaged by Dr. Eric Williams , Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, (through one of his ministers, Kamaluddin Mohammed ) this was postponed as in order to allow Trinidad and Tobago to be included in the agreement and to generally make the agreement region-wide from the beginning. Dr. Williams had for years been advocating

2140-809: The Minister-President of the Netherlands Antilles, Ciro Domenico Kroon and the Prime Minister of Suriname, Johan Adolf Pengel both expressed an interest in their respective territories joining CARIFTA in the future. In January 1970, at the fifth meeting of the CARIFTA Council, Trinidad and Tobago proposed that the Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic be admitted as members of CARIFTA. This proposal

2247-561: The 1960 European Free Trade Association Agreement, and the subsequent 1967 Agreement was suitably modified to reflect membership encompassing most of the Commonwealth Caribbean, the Association itself was governed more like the European Economic Community (EEC) with a mix of formal institutions set up by the Agreement and informal institutions outside the scope of the Agreement although like EFTA,

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2354-468: The 1972 Conference of Commonwealth Caribbean Heads of Government, consideration was given to widening CARIFTA but the immediate priority was agreed to be to improve the position of the less developed territories in the Association and to study the possibilities of including all the Caribbean islands and Suriname in the integration movement. While the original 1965 CARIFTA Agreement was mostly modelled on

2461-655: The 36th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Bridgetown, Barbados, Romeo gave assurances that Montserrat was continuing efforts to complete the process of accession to the Revised Treaty in a timely manner. He revealed that engagement continued with the government of the United Kingdom and that the necessary legislation was being prepared for submission to the Legislative Assembly of Montserrat. He also stated that Montserrat viewed accession to

2568-725: The CARICOM National a definite stay of 6 months. CARIFTA The Caribbean Free Trade Association ( CARIFTA ) was an English-speaking economic trade organisation. It organised on 1 May 1968, to provide a continued economic linkage between the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean . The agreements establishing it came following the dissolution of the West Indies Federation , which lasted from 1958 to 1962. The origins of CARIFTA lay in

2675-545: The CSM on 1 January 2006 and as such is legally in a common market relationship with all CSM participating states. This means that while goods from Montserrat are eligible for CARICOM treatment and free trade (as covered under the old Common Market Annex), service providers in Montserrat are not eligible for CARICOM treatment unless so provided for by the various CSM countries individually in legislation or administratively. Since

2782-438: The CSME and Google Cache of SICE - Establishment of the CSME at - see references) Chapter III of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas provides for the free movement of skilled Community nationals (article 46) as well as for the free movement of non-wage earners, either as service providers and/or to establish businesses, including managerial, supervisory and technical staff, and their spouses and immediate family members. Along with

2889-645: The CSME had been provisionally applied by twelve member states of CARICOM from 4 February 2002, under a Protocol on the Provisional Application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. Nine protocols had been drafted to amend the Original Treaty of Chaguaramas and had been consolidated into the Revised Treaty signed at Nassau in 2001, with a number of the Protocols having been applied in part or in full from their creation in 1997-1998 including

2996-675: The CSME was therefore for the Haitian Parliament to pass legislation adopting the Caricom External tariff as Haiti's national tariff. In mid 2009, the Government of Haiti announced that it would be ready to participate fully in free trade in goods within the CSME by 1 January 2010; and in fact through a revised Custom Act adopted by the Haitian Parliament in late 2009, 20–30% of the Caricom CET was incorporated into

3103-513: The CSME, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago were the first six to implement the CARICOM Single Market on 1 January 2006. Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were the next batch of members (six in all) that joined the CSM on 3 July 2006 at the recent CARICOM Heads of Government Conference. Current full members of CARICOM and partial participant of

3210-632: The CSME: Haiti's Parliament ratified the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas in October 2007 and Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Renald Clerisme presented the published Notice of Ratification to the Chairman of the Caribbean Community Council of Ministers, on 7 February clearing the way for the country's full participation in the CSME on 8 February 2008. Haiti has not completed its implementation of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and

3317-626: The CVQ programme. At the 9–10 February 2007 meeting of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, officials discussed arrangements for the award of the CVQ which was approved by the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) in October 2006. It was expected that the CVQ programme may be in place by mid-2007, if all the requirements are met and that provisions were being made for

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3424-584: The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The CROH, in 2007 started the Haiti CSME Project, the objective of which was to assist the Government of Haiti in accelerating its participation in the CSME as a means of enabling Haiti to fully re-engage in the process of regional integration in the Caribbean Community. As a first step towards the CSME, Haiti was due to enter the trade in goods regime of

3531-720: The Caribbean Association of National Agencies (CANTA) was formed as an umbrella organization of the various local training agencies including Trinidad and Tobago's National Training Agency, the Barbados TVET Council and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States TVET agency and the HEART Trust/NTA of Jamaica. Since 2005, the member organizations of CANTA have been working together to ensure a uniformed level of certified skilled labour under

3638-543: The Caribbean Community, with the 1972 Conference (at which it was agreed to form the Caribbean Community) appointing a Committee of Attorneys-General of all CARIFTA member states and the Bahamas to review the legal implications of establishing the Community itself and to prepare a draft Treaty for creating the Community. The 1972 Conference also agreed to deepen fiscal, financial and monetary cooperation within

3745-581: The Caribbean Community. While initially envisaged as being potential members of a Caribbean Economic Community by Trinidad & Tobago's Prime Minister, Dr. Eric Williams, when he first enunciated such a vision in January 1962, the talks between Trinidad & Tobago and Surinam (as it was then called until 1978 when it officially changed its name to Suriname) and the Netherlands Antilles in March 1962 were not successful. These two Dutch Caribbean territories (at

3852-829: The Caribbean Regional Organization on Standards and Quality (CROSQ). The Organization will be responsible for establishing regional standards in the manufacture and trade of goods which all Member States must adhere to. This Organization was established by a separate agreement from the CSME. As an example of the work of the CROSQ, in conjunction with other regional bodies, on 6 October 2017, COTED approved nine poultry processing plants in Barbados, Belize (including Quality Poultry Products' plant and Caribbean Chicken's plant), Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago to trade poultry and poultry products across

3959-425: The Caribbean region. Those already in the work force will be required to attend designated centres for assessment. The CVQ is based on a competency-based approach to training, assessment and certification. Candidates are expected to demonstrate competence in attaining occupational standards developed by practitioners, industry experts and employers. Those standards when approved by CARICOM allow for portability across

4066-659: The Caricom Development Fund and to the original jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice as being necessary to move Montserrat forwards in its effort to integrated and to safeguard the rules upon which its trade was based. Current full members of CARICOM but not the CSME: Current 5 associate members of CARICOM but not the CSME: Current 7 observing members of CARICOM but not the CSME: The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

4173-663: The Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) and CANTA itself has established a regional certification scheme that awards the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ), which is to replace NVQs and national TVET certifications. The CVQ will be school-based and although based on the certification scheme of CANTA, will be awarded by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) which will be collaborating with CANTA on

4280-597: The Commonwealth Caribbean and to that end established a Standing Committee of Ministers of Finance of CARIFTA member states and The Bahamas as a permanent institution for regional economic cooperation. In April 1973, at the final meeting of the Commonwealth Caribbean Heads of Government before the establishment of the Caribbean Community, the Conference welcomed the upcoming independence of The Bahamas in July 1973 and looked forward to its participation in

4387-487: The Community and particularly the CSME. Montserrat has been progressively making steps towards accession to the Revised Treaty, including obtaining the necessary instrument of entrustment from the United Kingdom. To this end Montserrat will be engaging with the CARICOM Secretariat and relevant CARICOM Institutions and the Caribbean Court of Justice in preparation for the deposit of its Instrument of Accession at

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4494-554: The Dickenson Bay Agreement so as to ensure the broadest possible membership, set 1 May 1968 as day CARIFTA was supposed to become operation and set forth a Resolution on Regional Integration which was incorporated as an integral part of the CARIFTA Agreement as Annex A. In regards to the CARIFTA and the wider regional integration movement, the Heads of Government Conference was the ultimate body which gave direction to

4601-596: The Dominican Republic (and Cuba) in CARIFTA unless a quota system was applied to their products as he considered their economies to be duplicate to those of the existing CARFITA states. The Dominican Republic first signaled its intention to join a regional economic bloc at the a Summit of American leaders in Uruguay in April 1967 when it signed the Declaration of the Presidents of America. This Declaration outlined

4708-597: The European Council with regards to the EEC however, the regional Heads of Government Conference pre-dates CARIFTA (and then CARICOM), having first convened in 1963 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. Having expanded its membership from just the independent Commonwealth Caribbean states in 1963 to including all of the non-independent territories in 1967, it was the Heads of Government Conference at its fourth sitting in October 1967 in Bridgetown, Barbados that modified

4815-424: The Grenadines benefitted from increase exports to the More Developed Countries (MDCs - Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago) of ground provisions (like sweet potatoes ), copra and raw oils (such as coconut oil) under the Agricultural Marketing Protocol and the Oil and Fats Agreement (which was initially an Agreement among some regional states that pre-dated CARIFTA but was incorporated into CARIFTA as

4922-526: The Grenadines, and Montserrat were intended to join the scheme on January 19, 1970. However, all of these states except Barbados did not actually join the scheme until February 1970 and Barbados itself joined in May 1972. Belize (having been renamed from British Honduras in 1973) joined in February 1976. This Inter-Regional Settlements Agreement expanded upon pre-existing arrangements between CARIFTA states for dealing with their regional currencies (exchanging their various currency notes and coins) by allowing for

5029-455: The Haitian national tariff. However soon after Haiti's progress towards full adoption of the CET began to stall with the dismissal of the Government of Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis in November 2009 and was then put on hold as a result of the January 2010 earthquake. To assist in stimulating economic activity, the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) in December, approved a request for some Haitian products to be exported within

5136-746: The MDC and LDC designations, the MDC territories experienced 77% growth of intra-CARIFTA exports over four years (with Jamaica's export trade expanding the most, growing by 46% in exports and 24% in imports for the period 1967–1969) and the LDC territories saw 35% growth in intra-CARIFTA exports over the same period. By the time CARIFTA was officially wound up in mid-1974 both intra-CARIFTA imports and exports had risen more than four-fold compared to 1966, with intra-CARIFTA imports increasing from EC$ 89 million to EC$ 473 million (433% increase) and intra-CARIFTA exports increasing from EC$ 82 million in 1966 to EC$ 455 million in 1974 (a 457% increase). The equivalent statistics for total trade with all partners by contrast showed

5243-420: The Member States have concluded the Agreement on Accreditation for Education in Medical and other Health Professions. By this agreement, an Authority (the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions ) is established which will be responsible for accrediting doctors and other health care personnel throughout the CSME. The Authority will be headquartered in Jamaica, which

5350-401: The Original Treaty of Chaguaramas of July 1973. The CARIFTA Council is analogous to the EFTA Council of Ministers, and was set up under Article 28 of the CARIFTA Agreement with each member territory being represented on the council and having one vote. Council decisions and recommendations were made by unanimous vote, except where the Agreement provides otherwise, in which case it could act by

5457-456: The Region. Currently, CVQs are planned to reflect a Qualification framework of five levels. These are: CVQ's are awarded to those candidates who would have met the required standards in all of the prescribed units of study. Statements are issued in cases where candidates did not complete all the requirements for the award of CVQ. Schools that are suitably equipped currently offer Levels 1 & 2. By March 2012 up to 2,263 CVQs had been awarded in

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5564-403: The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas in order to participate, but such entrustment was denied in mid-2008, and the CARICOM Heads of Government (including Montserrat) expressed disappointment and urged the United Kingdom to reconsider its position. Until such time, Montserrat remains a member under the conditions existing immediately prior to the coming into force of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and

5671-425: The Secretariat was to service both the Heads of Government Conference and the council, ensuring implementation of resolutions and decisions and to make studies concerning trade expansion or as assigned to it by the Conference or the council and make recommendations on matters within its competence. The Secretariat itself was divided into two Divisions. The first was the Trade and Integration Division which supervised

5778-542: The Senate; she received only 15 in the first vote, but in a second vote held shortly afterward she gained the necessary additional vote. There were no opposing votes, but one senator abstained. This vote occurred as Haiti was ravaged by the effects of Hurricane Hanna and Hurricane Ike , presenting a daunting challenge to Pierre-Louis and her government. The British weekly news and international affairs publication The Economist referred to Pierre-Louis in their publication "The World in Figures 2010", writing: Long known as

5885-414: The Single Economy had been put on pause. The completion of the CSME with the Single Economy will be achieved with the harmonization of economic policy, and possibly a single currency. At the eighteenth Inter-Sessional CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in St. Vincent and the Grenadines from 12 to 14 February 2007, it was agreed that while the framework for the Single Economy would be on target for 2008,

5992-521: The Single Market in January 2010 (earlier targets had been for some time in 2009) but could not do so because of the earthquake. Up until that point much work had been done by CROH and its Haitian government counterpart, the Bureau de Coordination et de Suivi or BCS (Office of Coordination and Monitoring), on the technical work necessary to bring the Haitian national tariff in line with the Caricom Common External Tariff (CET). The next step that had to be taken for Haiti to commence full free trade in goods within

6099-416: The Single Market on a non-reciprocal preferential basis for three years. Consultations are on-going towards approval of additional items from an original list which Haiti submitted. The concession became effective from 1 January 2011. CARICOM Secretariat officials are continuing their training exercises with Haitian customs officials to facilitate their understanding of the CSME's trading regime. In regards to

6206-411: The Treaty and so will be the court of arbitration for trade disputes under the CSME. By 2006, only two countries were full signatories to the Court: Barbados and Guyana, it was expected that by the end of 2010, all 14 member countries would be fully involved. However, only Belize acceded to the appellate jurisdiction in 2010 while all other states were in various stages of moving towards full accession to

6313-400: The Twenty-Sixth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference, to be held in February 2015 in The Bahamas. Following the September 2014 general elections in Montserrat, Reuben Meade's government was replaced by new government led by Donaldson Romeo. Romeo's government remained committed to acceding to the Revised Treaty, although the target date of February 2015 was not achieved. In July 2015, at

6420-445: The aim for the creation of Latin American Common Market through the vehicles of the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) and Central American Common Market (CACM). Subsequently, the Dominican Republic looked into both LAFTA and the CACM, before pursuing discussions on joining CARIFTA in 1970. However the discussions did not result in Dominican membership before CARIFTA was ended in favour of forming CARICOM in 1973–1974. At

6527-689: The automatic grant of 6 months stay under the freedom of movement obligations and honouring CARICOM skills certificates in Montserrat (the latter measure the Government of Montserrat had been implemented by way of amendments to existing Statutory Rules and Orders since 1996 in keeping with conformity with the original Conference of Heads of Government decision on the free movement of university graduates). Montserrat also issues land holding licenses to CARICOM nationals as an administrative procedure in seeking to comply with CARICOM's right of establishment obligations, and intends to remove all impediments except for those related to cost recovery. Montserrat's compliance with

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6634-568: The court's appellate jurisdiction. Dominica thereafter acceded to the appellate jurisdiction in March 2015. (Source; CARICOM's official website at) All goods which meet the CARICOM rules of origin are traded duty-free throughout the region (except The Bahamas), therefore all goods originating within the region can be traded without restrictions. In addition, most member states apply a Common External Tariff (CET) on good originating from non-CARICOM countries. There are, however, some areas still to be developed: Another key element in relations to goods

6741-406: The details will depend on the technical work, consultations and decisions that would have been taken. Phase 2 will include: At the conclusion of a special summit on the CSME held in Trinidad and Tobago from 3–4 December 2018, the leaders agreed to a three-year plan on the CSME. This plan will include: Current twelve full members of both CARICOM and the CSME: Of the twelve members expected to join

6848-430: The disagreement on duck meat trade between Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, with Trinidad and Tobago now willing (by mid-November 2017) to approve Suriname as one of the countries that has met the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements for exporting duck meat to the country. Regional accreditation bodies are planned to assess qualifications for equivalency, complementary to the free movement of persons. To this end,

6955-449: The draft CARICOM Financial Services Agreement and the draft amendment to the Intra-CARICOM Double Taxation Agreement), and implementation of the provisions the Rose Hall Declaration on Governance and Mature Regionalism . Phase 2 is to take place between 2010 and 2015 and consists of the consolidation and completion of the Single Economy. It is expected that decisions taken during Phase 1 would be implemented within this time period, although

7062-421: The elements of Phase 1 has not resulted in its completion by 2009, a number of its elements have been met, including: Notable elements that have yet to be completed are; legal entrenchment for the CARICOM Charter for Civil Society, approval of the CARICOM Investment Regime and CARICOM Financial Services Agreement (although in August 2013 Finance Ministers of the member states in a Community Council meeting approved

7169-446: The establishment of a Caribbean Economic Community and was now fearful that Barbados, Antigua and Guyana were planning to form a free trade area between themselves to the exclusion of Trinidad and Tobago. The push to make the free trade area a region-initiative was successful and the issue was discussed at the fourth Conference of the Heads of Government of Commonwealth Caribbean Countries in Bridgetown, Barbados in October 1967. There it

7276-452: The executive director of the Knowledge and Freedom Foundation (FOKAL), a non-governmental organization financed by George Soros , since 1995. In June 2008 Pierre-Louis was nominated as prime minister by President René Préval , after Préval's two previous nominees were rejected by the Chamber of Deputies . Her nomination was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 17 July 2008, with 61 votes in favor, one opposed, and 20 abstentions. It

7383-399: The formal institutions prescribed in the CARIFTA Agreement were simple and flexible. Similarly to the European Council the regional Heads of Government Conference started off as an informal summit of leaders and later as an independent, formal summit of leaders that was still informal with regards to the regional integration organization over which it had some amount of direction. Unlike

7490-495: The free trade in goods, the Revised Treaty also provides the framework for the establishment of a regime for free trade in services. The main objective is to facilitate trade and investment in the services sectors of CSME Member States through the establishment of economic enterprises. The free trade regime for services grants the following benefits: The right to work as a self-employed person has been provided for in respect of persons wishing to engage in non-wage earning activities of

7597-425: The holders of current NVQs to have them converted into the regionally accepted type (although no clear mandate is yet in place). This deadline was met and in October 2007, the CVQ programme was officially launched. The CVQ now facilitates the movement of artisans and other skilled persons in the CSME. This qualification will be accessible to persons already in the workforce as well as students in secondary schools across

7704-627: The inclusion of Haitians in the free movement of skilled nationals under the CSME regime and a review of the visa policy towards Haitian nationals by other Caricom states some progress has been made. By early 2009, representation to the Caricom Heads of Government on the issue, particularly arising out of difficulties faced by Government officials travelling to Caricom meetings, led the Conference of Heads of Government to waive visa requirements for Haitian Government officials bearing official Government passports. In 2010 Caricom Heads of Government went

7811-406: The individual credit lines were increased to £500,000 (or approximately US$ 1.160 million) and in 1976, total credit in the arrangements was increased to US$ 40 million. The Settlements Agreement facilitated the flow of regional trade, conserved the region's international reserves, and encouraged the integration of the regional banking systems. The settlement on a quarterly basis significantly reduced

7918-518: The institution of an Inter-Regional Settlements Agreement (also known as the Intra-Regional Payments Scheme) aimed at facilitating and reducing the cost of making payments from trade among CARIFTA states. The Agreement became operational on December 1, 1969 between those three countries; while the remaining CARIFTA states of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and

8025-471: The jurisdiction of Member States of the Community and which are parties to the Agreement Establishing the CCJ. In the discharge of its appellate jurisdiction, the CCJ is the highest municipal court in the Region. In the exercise of its original jurisdiction, the CCJ will be discharging the functions of an international tribunal applying rules of international law in respect of the interpretation and application of

8132-516: The movement of capital obligations under the CSME is already assured within the framework of the East Caribbean Currency Union. At the thirty-fifth regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government ending on 4 July 2014, Reuben Meade, Premier of Montserrat, announced that Montserrat intends to accede to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas by the next meeting of the Conference, paving the way for its full participation in

8239-440: The nine (9) approved categories (where the member state recognizes these categories). Several procedures have been approved for treatment of persons wishing to establish business enterprises in other member states. These involve: CARICOM Nationals specifically wishing to move from one Member State to another in exercising the right of establishment will have to present the following at point of entry: Immigration will then grant

8346-540: The only net creditor within the Scheme. In 1965, on December 15, the CARIFTA was founded by 3 countries: The following countries joined the agreement: In the 1970s, around the time CARIFTA was being transformed into CARICOM the following countries were granted Liaison Status/Observer Status in the Association: Although never a member of the Association itself, The Bahamas had begun involvement in

8453-495: The participation of Antigua, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. The original idea to permit all territories in the region to participate in the Association was achieved a few months later with the entry of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts/Nevis/Anguilla, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent in July and of Jamaica and Montserrat on August 1, 1968. British Honduras (Belize) became a member in May 1971 following its government's agreement to become

8560-630: The poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has stumbled from one crisis to another since the Duvalier years. But under its prime minister, Michèle Pierre-Louis, the country has an opportunity to make substantial and sustainable gains in both economics and politics. Her domestic achievements are already considerable, holding together a diverse coalition and quelling a determined opposition. Abroad, she has worked well with international leaders and won some influential friends, including Bill Clinton ,

8667-594: The previously erratic changes in foreign exchange reserves of the participating member states caused by having to settle at least once a day in both directions prior to the scheme (to pay for imports and receive funds from exports). The Inter-Regional Settlements Agreement would continue past CARIFTA's transformation into CARICOM and eventually be replaced in April 1977 by the CARICOM Multilateral Clearing Facility and its concomitant traveller's cheques facility . This transformation

8774-563: The production of or trade in goods, or the provision of services. Service providers may also move to establish businesses under the Companies Act or the Registration of Business Names Act. The procedure in those cases would be the same as those applying to the establishment of business for the provision of goods by a Company. Nationals exercising this right may move to another Member State on a permanent basis. This category of person

8881-701: The provision on the Free Movement of Skilled Nationals. As of 3 July 2006, it now has 12 members . Although the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) has been established, in 2006 it was only expected to be fully implemented in 2008. Later in 2007 a new deadline for the coming into effect of the Single Economy was set for 2015, however, following the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the resulting Great Recession , in 2011, CARICOM Heads of Government declared that progress towards

8988-400: The purchasing and selling of regional currencies via bank transfers. This would enable the regional monetary authorities to facilitate regional commercial banks in concluding final settlements between themselves locally rather than having such payments done through London as was the practice up to that time. In turn this allowed commercial banks to offer better rates of exchange and settlement in

9095-449: The recommendations of a report on the CSME for the phased implementation of the Single Economy would be accepted. The Single Economy is now expected to be implemented in two phases. Phase 1 was to take place between 2008 and 2009 with the consolidation of the Single Market and the initiation of the Single Economy. Its main elements would include: During Phase 1 it is also expected that by 1 January 2009, there would be: While progress on

9202-604: The region after assessments by Regional Risk Assessment Teams (coordinated by the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) and reviewed and finalized by the CARICOM Committee of Chief Veterinary Officers) proved they met the sanitary requirements (Specifications for Poultry and Poultry Products) developed by CROSQ and approved by COTED in 2013. Additionally the COTED resolved

9309-431: The regional cooperation and integration initiative through participation in the Heads of Government Conferences of the Commonwealth Caribbean starting in 1966. This participation was quite active with The Bahamas' Premier, Lynden Pindling, sharing experiences and offering suggestions with regards to the establishment and operation of a regional air carrier at the 1969 Conference, and with The Bahamas (along with Belize which

9416-756: The regional currencies to their customers. The new arrangement also allowed for the desired increase in international liquidity for the CARIFTA states be formally making CARIFTA currencies convertible within the CARIFTA Area. This was considered a necessity as the volume of intra-CARIFTA trade increased. However, under the Scheme the various CARIFTA central banks or monetary authorities effected settlements with each other individually, with each member extended an interest-free maximum credit line of £100,000 and outstanding net balances being settled quarterly by actual currency exchange (in Pounds Sterling). In 1974

9523-535: The regional integration, established committees and working parties to examine certain issues pertaining to regional integration, approved the budget of the Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Secretariat, and informally was needed to expressly approve any new major initiatives of the formal CARIFTA institutions. The Heads of Government Conference would be formalized as an Organ of CARIFTA's successor organization, CARICOM, with

9630-575: The remaining CARIFTA members all acceded to CARICOM. In fact, there was essentially a transitional period between 1 August 1973 when the More Developed Countries (MDCs) of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago acceded to CARICOM and 26 July 1974 when Saint Kitts & Nevis acceded to CARICOM, during which both CARIFTA and CARICOM were legally in existence and operative and thus CARIFTA wasn't fully superseded until 26 July 1974. In conjunction with their accession to CARICOM,

9737-643: The rest of the Caribbean when the other countries in the Commonwealth Caribbean were ready to join. These bilateral discussions between Barrow and Burnham were later expanded to include V. C. Bird of Antigua and the three leaders ultimately signed the initial CARIFTA Agreement (the Agreement of Dickenson Bay in Antigua) on December 15, 1965. The original date envisioned for the Caribbean Free Trade Area to come into existence, according to

9844-475: The second member territory was determined by the Council not to be fulfilling its obligations stemming from the CARIFTA Agreement. The Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Secretariat was the principal administrative organ of the Association, being established under Article 28 (3) of the Agreement, and it could be entrusted by the council with such functions or delegated authority as the Council considered necessary to assist it in accomplishing its tasks. The role of

9951-418: The significance of intra-CARIFTA trade relative to external markets all increased notably. Intra-CARIFTA imports rose from EC$ 95 million in 1968 to EC$ 300 million in 1973. Whilst foodstuff and petroleum products accounted for the bulk of this trade, a range of new manufactured items (particularly from Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago) began to be supplied for the first time. Diversification not only occurred in

10058-455: The start of the CSME process and after the denial of entrustment, Montserrat has been treated in the relevant legislation of other member states as being a participant of the CSME and Montserrat itself implements aspects of the CSME where possible for its own residents and for nationals of other CSME states (or provides more favourable treatment for such nationals where full implementation is not possible). These measures include legal provisions for

10165-533: The time) were however also invited, prior to 1968, to become founding members of CARIFTA, but Surinam declined as it was uncertain as to the implications of joining and the Netherlands Antilles also declined out of caution against being the only non- Commonwealth member Following CARIFTA's foundation however, Jamaica's Prime Minister, Hugh Shearer found on a tour of the Dutch Caribbean in August 1968, that

10272-584: The types of goods sold but in the matrix of trade relationships with Jamaica's trade expanding away from the traditional markets of Belize and the northern Caribbean towards the southern and eastern Caribbean while Trinidad & Tobago's trade concurrently expanded from the traditional markets of Guyana and the Eastern Caribbean towards Jamaica, Belize and the northern Caribbean. Additionally the LDCs, particularly Saint Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent &

10379-447: The various CARIFTA states gave notices of withdrawal from CARIFTA which brought about the legal termination of CARIFTA's provisions within their jurisdictions and ultimately the complete legal dissolution of CARIFTA itself. Thus the dates of withdrawal from CARIFTA are as follows: The regional co-operation under the CARIFTA agreement also led to the foundation of several common institutions. The Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Secretariat

10486-527: The workforce across the region and 2,872 had been awarded in schools for a total of 5,135 CVQs awarded up to that time. The breakdown of the agency awarding the over 5,000 CVQs by March 2012 stood at 1,680 having been awarded by the CXC and 3,455 being awarded by the various National Training Agencies (with some being awarded in the workplace and some being awarded in secondary schools). (Main Sources; JIS website on

10593-554: The workings of the CARIFTA Agreement including collecting, collating and analyzing regional statistics and economic data as well as improving customs procedures and training customs personnel. The second was the General Services and Administrative Division which held responsibility for the general administration of the Secretariat and the non-economic aspects of regional integration such as education, health, meteorology, shipping and so on. In 1973, CARIFTA became superseded by

10700-527: Was appointed as Minister of Justice and Public Security, in addition to serving as prime minister. The government was to have been installed on 26 August, but this was delayed due to the impact of Hurricane Gustav . Pierre-Louis' political programme and government were approved by the Chamber of Deputies and subsequently by the Senate on 5 September 2008, following extended negotiations. 16 votes were needed in

10807-485: Was approved by the Senate on 31 July, with 12 votes in favor, 5 abstentions and none opposed. Her political programme and government still had to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Préval announced the composition of the new government on 25 August; aside from Pierre-Louis herself, there were 17 ministers, seven of whom were retained from the previous government of Jacques-Édouard Alexis . Pierre-Louis

10914-416: Was due to the fact that though the Scheme worked satisfactorily, it was cumbersome due to the need of each of the 6 participating monetary authorities to keep individual accounts for all of the other participants and the growth of intra-regional trade requiring an increase in the volume of credit to be provided. Additionally, despite all countries extending credit on a bilateral basis, Trinidad and Tobago became

11021-480: Was generally positively received. The inclusion of those states would have expanded CARIFTA's market by 8.5 million people and increased the subscribed capital of the Caribbean Development Bank (which had been linked with the formation and operation of CARIFTA) by approximately US$ 17 million. By 1971 however, Errol Barrow, Prime Minister of Barbados, saw no real advantage in including Haiti and

11128-437: Was intended to encourage balanced development of the Region by the following: In addition to providing for free trade, the Agreement sought the following: Although CARIFTA itself was limited to trade in goods, it freed approximately 90% of intra-regional trade in manufactured goods and instituted managed intra-regional trade in some agricultural products. Between 1968 and 1973 the absolute trade, diversity of traded goods and

11235-560: Was not as yet a member of the Association) being invited to participate in the initial meeting (and in all future discussions) of the regional Ministers of Education in regards to the establishment of the Caribbean Examinations Council and the overall regional plan for cooperation in education at the 1970 Heads of Government Conference. The Bahamas was also quite involved in the transformation of CARIFTA into

11342-649: Was resolved to introduce the free trade area by May 1, 1968, with the delegations of Montserrat and British Honduras (Belize) entering reservations to the conclusions of the resolution due to the constitutional status of their governments at the time. As a result of this a supplementary agreement to the original Carifta Agreement was signed in Georgetown, Guyana on March 15, 1968, and in St John's, Antigua on March 18, 1968, with Carifta Day set for May 1, 1968. The new CARIFTA agreement came into effect on May 1, 1968, with

11449-646: Was set up in Georgetown (Guyana) and the Caribbean Development Bank was established in Bridgetown, Barbados. One of the legacies of CARIFTA is an international youth athletics event for junior athletes from the member states started in 1972 by the association and inaugurated (and thought up) by Austin Sealy (then president of the Amateur Athletic Association of Barbados) to mark the transition from CARIFTA to CARICOM called

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