PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce (TT Chamber) on Tuesday said that its members regard the regional integration movement, CARICOM, as a critical economic partner.
“For many local businesses across manufacturing, services, and non-energy exports, the CARICOM market remains an essential source of growth, market diversification, and foreign exchange earnings,” the TT Chamber said in a statement.
The statement followed the recent spat between Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who has called on his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart Kamla Persad-Bissessar to “produce the evidence” that CARICOM, including Antigua and Barbuda, had aligned itself with “the Maduro narco government headed by a dictator” in Venezuela.
Persad-Bissessar said in her statement that her priority “is in the best interests of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,” noting also that the 15-member regional integration grouping will not determine the future of her twin island republic and that it “is not a reliable partner at this time.
“The fact is that beneath the thin mask of unity, there are many widening fissures that, if left unaddressed, will lead to its implosion. The organisation is deteriorating rapidly due to poor management, lax accountability, factional divisions, destabilising policies, private conflicts between regional leaders and political parties, and the inappropriate meddling in the domestic politics of member states. That’s the plain truth,” she added.
Persad-Bissessar told reporters this week that the issue of Trinidad and Tobago withdrawing from CARICOM had” not been discussed by Cabinet.”
In its statement, the TT Chamber said Trinidad and Tobago enterprises have deep and longstanding commercial ties throughout the region, including established customers, supply chains, employees, and physical investments.
“CARICOM remains Trinidad and Tobago’s second-largest trading partner outside of the United States, and our country has consistently played a constructive and influential role in advancing regional trade and economic cooperation.
“The TT Chamber does not interpret the recent public comments by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar as any indication of a withdrawal from CARICOM. Rather, they highlight the ongoing need to ensure that regional integration evolves in a manner that balances cooperation with respect for national sovereignty, security considerations, and domestic policy space, while remaining firmly anchored in shared regional economic objectives.”
The private sector group said that from its perspective, “the priority remains continuity and predictability.
“Businesses are focused on sustained market access, efficient trade facilitation, and reliable transport and logistics linkages across the region. These fundamentals are essential for firms to plan with confidence, make long-term investments, and remain competitive in an increasingly challenging global environment. It is, therefore, our hope that these discussions do not result in unintended disruptions to regional commerce.”
The TT Chamber said accordingly, it “remains committed to supporting a stable, rules-based, and predictable regional framework that enables businesses to operate, invest, and grow.
“We reaffirm our support for CARICOM and for continued efforts to strengthen regional integration in a way that delivers practical, measurable benefits for Trinidad and Tobago and our Caribbean partners alike,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) is warning that the CARICOM market is currently “indispensable” to Trinidad and Tobago’s economic resilience.
JCC president Fazir Khan, in a statement, said Trinidad and Tobago should reject any notion that it could prosper without CARICOM’s support.
In his earlier response to Perad-Bissessar’s outburst, the Antigua and Barbuda leader reminded Port of Spain that, in 2024 alone, Trinidad and Tobago earned more than US$ 1.1 billion in foreign exchange from trade with CARICOM, comprising approximately US$784.7 million in domestic exports and US$501.3 million in re-exports to CARICOM states.
Khan said Trinidad and Tobago cannot take CARICOM for granted, noting the regional group accounts for roughly a tenth of all global exports and an even larger share of the country’s non-energy exports.
“Excluding petroleum and petroleum products, exports to CARICOM have been estimated at over US$560 million in a recent benchmark year, representing about one quarter of all intra-regional exports – by far the largest share enjoyed by any member state. This is not the profile of a marginal or unreliable market; it is the profile of a vital anchor for diversification and the pivot away from energy.”
Khan said for the domestic construction industry, this regional demand translates into jobs for technicians, engineers, contractors, and professional consultants who the vagaries of the local market would otherwise constrain.
He said the CARICOM market is crucial to earning foreign exchange, and any disruptions could result in “hundreds of millions of US dollars in potential annual export losses for Trinidad and Tobago, particularly in non-energy sectors that are still struggling to gain a foothold in extra-regional markets.
“At a time when the country is seeking to stabilise foreign-exchange earnings and broaden its productive base, flirting with such losses would be economically ill-advised,” Khan added.
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