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With the constant revolving Caribbean diplomatic presence in Washington and no forceful CARICOM lobby, it is not surprising that the Caribbean‘s interests are way down the back burner of the U.S. Administration.
One well-known Washington-based Caribbean affairs expert who has been speaking out about this, is Anton Edmunds, the former Executive Director and CEO of Caribbean Central American Action (CCAA), an independent corporation that promotes private sector-led economic development in the Caribbean and Central America.
“The Washington relationship appears to be one characterized more and more by feelings of both parties of dissatisfaction, distrust and disillusionment,” says Edmunds, who is now President and CEO of The Edmunds Group International (TEG), a boutique consulting firm that focuses on supporting clients with interests in the Caribbean Basin region.
In a harsh assessment of the current state of the regional integration movement, he also stated: “The region lacks leadership at its crown jewel, CARICOM, which begs the question as to which entity should major U.S. agencies engage on regional programmes.”
Edmunds observed that the region is becoming more and more “porous” in relation to the transportation of drugs, and he believes that addressing this issue may be the platform on which the U.S/Caribbean relation will be strengthened, since the trade and economic relationship is not a strong one.
He also notes that while the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) is providing much-needed assistance with equipment and interdiction, it was essentially conceived in Washington.
Caribbean governments, in his view, have failed to understand how Washington works. In particular, he feels the region appears unfamiliar with the financial cycle in terms of when and how funds are appropriated, the process involved in hearings, and how policy in Washington is developed.
Edmunds feels CARICOM states should develop stronger links with representatives in key US States that have the strongest trading relationship with the Caribbean, primarily New York and Florida.
He said it is not enough for one prime minister to meet the president and expect that issues affecting the Caribbean would be considered with any speed, given the fragile state of the U.S. economy and so many other competing domestic and global interests.
“The region is not advocating and presenting solutions in areas where we have deficiencies. We should be devoting more time to developing regional solutions, and then turning to donors and allies for support,” Edmunds, who is also a Senior Associate at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic Studies, told me in a recent conversation.
One significant area of weakness in Washington is the inability of the region’s diplomatic missions to consistently lobby and promote the Caribbean’s interests. Edmunds explained that it is challenging for Caribbean diplomats to do this, since a lot of time is spent focusing on The Organisation of American States’ (OAS) agenda, especially in areas of education and social development.
Edmunds recommends that CARICOM should have lead specialists for various sectors. For example, Barbados or The Bahamas diplomatic representatives could pursue issues pertaining to financial services and be the lead advocates. But for this to work, the reporting structures in the Caribbean region would need to be overhauled, since going through Ministries of Foreign Affairs has not proven to be effective, and the CARICOM Secretariat as a regional institution is “woefully unprepared and weak”.
Edmunds explained that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs tend to pass on security issues to Ministries of Home Affairs, and there is lack of coordination thereafter, both at the national and regional levels.
He advocated that Caribbean diplomats be cross-trained in trade and tourism promotion, security, and financial services’ issues.
Edmunds also feels the Caribbean has to rethink its relationship with the Congressional Black Caucus, noting that there are only a handful of people in the 43-member Caucus with Caribbean heritage.
“We simply cannot go on as we did in the past, laying out our needs and (expecting) that these members of Congress and their staffers will devote time, day in day out, to finding solutions. What in fact we should be doing is assigning qualified advocates and lobbyists based in Washington, who are experts on the Caribbean and understand how Washington works, to liaise with Congressional staffers as they track legislation affecting the region.”
He hastened to clarify that this does not necessarily mean hiring large, expensive firms.
Edmunds underscored that the Caribbean has to do a better job of engaging the Black Caucus, as well as Republicans whose constituencies are made up of a large Caribbean diaspora. He is convinced a bipartisan approach to Caribbean issues of trade, competitiveness, security issues and disaster preparedness would likely yield more positive results for the region.
On the issue of U.S. aid to the region, Edmunds believes that some current major areas, such as skills training and linking agriculture and tourism, are not receiving substantial U.S. support, and the relationship with agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) needs to be redefined.
On the USAID issue, as mentioned in previous columns, I strongly believe that USAID assistance to the Caribbean Development Bank, Caribbean Export Development Agency, and for more Caribbean private sector ventures would be a signal from the Obama Administration of its renewed commitment to the region.
(Sandra Ann Baptiste is a Business Consultant and Specialist in Caribbean Affairs).
