PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali’s address to the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce last week was a comprehensive diagnosis.
The Caribbean has needed to hear this message with clear urgency. His call for a strong move from fragmentation to structured collaboration comes at just the right time, as the global trade environment becomes harsher for small economies that do not act with shared purpose.
The uncomfortable truth is that President Ali is stating something familiar. The Caribbean has discussed regional integration for decades since CARICOM was founded in 1973. Still, old habits such as protectionism, bureaucratic delays, and national self-interest continue to choke what could be the Region’s greatest competitive advantage — its unity. What makes this moment different is the intensity of the external pressures on regional economies.
Global trade growth dropped below one percent in 2025, the Caribbean Basin Initiative preferences that supported US market access since 1984 are gone, and Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago now face US tariffs of up to 15 percent. The time for inaction has passed.
The President is completely correct that protectionism hurts regional prosperity. It is a reaction born from fear—fear of competition, fear of losing local industries, and fear of political backlash from established interests. However, when this fear is ingrained across member states, it leads to the very problems it aims to prevent: stagnation, reduced investment and diminished importance on the global stage.
CARICOM’s senior officials have recognised that non-tariff barriers, improper sanitary restrictions, and regulatory fragmentation are persistent obstacles to trade in agricultural and manufactured goods within the region. You cannot create a competitive regional bloc while also stifling commerce at every border crossing.
President Ali’s suggested solution, integrating production systems, forming joint ventures and partnerships, pooling resources and expertise is not extreme. It is simply logical.
The Region’s combined strengths in energy, agriculture, logistics, and services are impressive when viewed as a united effort. Individually, each economy is too small to negotiate effectively or attract significant investment.
Together, the Caribbean offers a different proposition. The CARICOM Industrial Policy and Strategy and the 25×25+5 food-security agenda already provide a framework; what is lacking is the political will to act instead of just talk.
His idea of gathering key stakeholders for 72 hours to tackle critical trade and regulatory barriers may seem dramatic, but the reasoning behind it is solid.
The Caribbean’s integration issue is not mainly about lacking ideas—the analysis has been done, the reports have been written, and conferences have been held. The problem lies in accountability and execution.
Policymakers and business leaders must now focus on results, not just processes. President Ali has given both a diagnosis and a challenge. Whether the Region responds to it or retreats back to easy rhetoric will shape the Caribbean’s economic future for the coming generation.
