Gutierrez: US Caricom relationship vital, vibrant

Even though Caricom exports to the United States (US) increased by more than 26 per cent between 2004 and 2006, the value of these exports is insignificant when compared with the US$16.6 billion in products arriving at our shores from the US.{{more}}

Despite this, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez has described the relationship between the US and Caricom countries as “vital and vibrant”, and commented that the US$2.4 billion in products exported from Caricom to the US in 2006 was more than what his country imported from several other countries including Spain.

Gutierrez was a keynote speaker at the Opening Plenary for the Conference on the Caribbean held last week in Washington D.C.

Speaking to a standing room only audience at the World Bank on June 19, Gutierrez said that his country is committed to helping the region take more positive steps forward. “There are a number of programmes we have in place including the Caribbean Basin Initiative, the General System of Preferences and Capacity Building Programmes which create opportunity and an environment for progress.”

Of the US$2.4 billion in exports from the region to the United States, the bulk of which is petroleum and natural gas products from Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines accounts for only US$600,000, made up mainly of food and beverages.

Exports to the United States from this country formed only 1.7 per cent of the US$34 million in total domestic exports last year. St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ largest export products are bananas and seafood which are sold to European Union countries.

The Secretary of Commerce commended the region’s efforts on integration saying, “In terms of trade with the US, the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) serves as an opportunity to strengthen ties and better prepare the region for the global economy. Your drive towards the CSME recognizes that the global business environment requires a strategic response.”

Gutierrez, who described himself as one of the 2.6 million Caribbean American people living in the United States, also extolled the virtues of public/private sector partnerships for the region. He advised that if governments created a suitable environment, businesses would flourish and the tax revenues generated would be able for investment and education.

He said that the US was committed to an ongoing dialogue with the Caribbean, stating that he is optimistic about the future of the Western Hemisphere, and “Especially optimistic for the future of the Caribbean nations.”