Mr. Chairman,
Mr. Paul Quesnel - President, Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association,
Ms. Natasha Mustapha Scott - General Manager, Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association,
Other Members of the TTMA Executive,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Morning!

I am indeed pleased to be present here and to participate in yet another interactive session as you continue your proactive role in keeping your membership informed of the important economic issues of the day. I wish to state categorically that my pleasure in addressing you is derived in large part from the considerable value that the CSME Unit places on a forum such as this. As you are aware, since May 2004, the CSME Unit of Trinidad and Tobago has been actively engaged in public outreach sessions aimed at sensitizing and educating the population on the CSME. Our presentations have included sessions with various governmental, non governmental and private sector organizations as well as youth groups in both Trinidad and Tobago.

I wish to especially congratulate you, the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA), for dedicating this session solely to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Additionally, I wish to state that your decision to host this forum today is certainly well timed as the Community is on the last stretch to fulfilling its landmark promise that the core elements of the Single Market will be fully implemented by January 1st 2006.

Today, I feel a unique sense of pride as I speak to you not just as Manufacturers but as players in Caribbean integration, having been active participants in intra-regional trade in goods from as far back as 1967. You, more than anyone else would recognize that the rules of trade are changing and there is thus a great need on our part to continually access external markets. Further, while we have embraced trade liberalization and the many opportunities it presents, the increase over the last couple of decades, in the number and depth of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) around the world have made us realize that free trade is indeed the most viable option through which our economy and those of our sister states can attain social and economic development.

Consequently, as small developing states, we have chosen to participate in the various international trade negotiations from the multilateral to the bilateral level as a collective group in order to protect our current trade privileges and ensure that the new trade rules are adequate in addressing our particular circumstances of smallness and vulnerability to economic and other shocks. These circumstances as you are well aware, present limited opportunities for growth and development.

It is on this premise as well as a key strategic response to the changing global economic environment and our bridgehead into the global trade arena, that the decision to establish the CSME was taken. The objective of this initiative was to go beyond facilitating the liberalization of intra regional trade to the creation of a Single CARICOM economic space to facilitate regional trade, production and investment. The CSME, with its provisions for the free movement of goods, services, people and capital as well as the right of establishment involves major changes in the structure and interaction of all participating economies and in the words of the Prime Minister of Barbados, the Rt. Honourable Owen Arthur is unquestionably the most complex, the most ambitious and the most difficult enterprise ever contemplated in our Region.

This presentation today is therefore convened primarily to re-iterate and to convey the importance and urgency of the national and by extension the region's efforts in building a Single Market and Economy. It is recognised that for quite some time now, you have been operating within a single market framework and more than anyone else appreciate the need to be efficient and competitive. The CSME fosters your development in this regard through the provisions contained under Articles 6(e) and (f) of the Revised Treaty which speak to ¡§enhanced levels of international competitiveness¡¨ and ¡§increased productivity¡¨ respectively.

The Single Market is expected to be operational in all thirteen (13) participating Member States by January 1st 2006, while the Single Economy is set be on stream by 2008.

It is acknowledged that the Single Market aspect of the CSME will be recognisable by the existence of five (5) main regimes to facilitate the free movement of persons, goods, services, capital and the right of establishment as well as a legal framework and a number of supporting institutions and arrangements to make the market regimes function. The legal framework upon which the CSME stands, includes the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, several inter-governmental agreements and national implementing laws and regulations, while the Institutional framework includes the arrangements for dispute settlement, enforcement and regulation and national and regional administrative systems.

Mr. President, I have noted the concerns of the TTMA with respect to the timelines for the implementation of the CSME. I wish to assure you that the CSME remains the number one priority of the Caribbean Community and if I may quote H.E. Mr. Edwin Carrington, Secretary General of CARICOM at the Workshop in March 2005 for Newspaper Editors on the CSME, it ¡§¡K occupies the pride of place in the CARICOM Secretariat’s work programme for 2005 and 2006. On the national front, my Government's intention towards the implementation of the CSME is indeed clear as at the Fourteenth (14th ) Inter - sessional Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government, together with Jamaica and Barbados, we gave an undertaking to be Single Market ready ahead of the 2005 deadline. Today, five (5) months ahead of the planned date of full implementation, I am happy to report on our progress.

In terms of Treaty Revision, the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas is the legal framework upon which the CSME is established. All Member States with the exception of Montserrat, which is awaiting entrustments from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Bahamas who have opted not to, have signed the Revised Treaty. On the national front, legislation to incorporate the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas into domestic law has been passed in both Houses of Parliament and proclaimed by the President of the Republic.

With respect to the establishment of National and Regional Administrative Structures, the Ministry responsible for CARICOM Affairs has the mandate for the implementation of the CSME in all Member States. In Trinidad and Tobago this responsibility lies with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which has established a CSME Unit since January 2004. This Unit, as you know is fully operational and is assisted in its implementation mandate by an Inter-Ministerial Consultative Committee (IMCC) and a Business and Labour Advisory Committee (BLAC), the latter on which there is representation by your Association.

In the sphere of Enforcement, Regulation and Supporting Institutions, the areas of standards and quality, justice and fair trading are comprehensively outlined. In the area of standards and quality, Trinidad and Tobago already has a National Bureau of Standards and the Bill to enact the Agreement on the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) into domestic law has been passed in both Houses of Parliament and will be proclaimed shortly by the President of the Republic.

The CCJ for which much concern has been expressed represents two important elements for the Caribbean Community. Under its original jurisdiction, the CCJ has exclusive and compulsory jurisdiction in all matters relating to the interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. In its ‘appellate jurisdiction’, the CCJ will be the final court of appeal from decisions of national courts, thereby replacing the Privy Council in those Member States for which it is the final court of appeal. Trinidad and Tobago has to date enacted the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) into domestic law, giving effect to the ¡§original jurisdiction only.

The only remaining area is the establishment of a National Competition Authority, the legislation of which is currently before our Parliament. It should be noted that this legislation which will take the form of Fair Trading legislation seeks to promote and maintain effective competition throughout the economy and to ensure that competition is not distorted, restricted or prevented, either by private business conduct or by public policy. This legislation is based on the CARICOM Model Legislation for Competition Policy.

In the case of the five (5) regimes of the Single Market, the free movement of persons is deemed a critical element of the Single Market component of the CSME. The CSME allows for CARICOM Nationals to seek work or engage in gainful employment in all participating Member States as either a wage earner or non wage earner, without the need to obtain a work permit in the receiving Member State. As a first step towards achieving full free movement of Skills/Labour, the following categories of wage earners are entitled to move and work freely in the Community:

 - University Graduates, Artistes, Musicians, Media Persons, Sports Persons and Managerial, technical and supervisory personnel connected to a company.

Since June 2003, Trinidad and Tobago has been able to implement all the necessary legislative measures and institute the administrative structures for the free movement of University Graduates, Media Persons, Sports Persons, Artistes and Musicians. These persons are able to move freely by virtue of a Skills Certificate issued to them by the relevant authorizing agency in each Member State. In the case of Trinidad and Tobago, the authorizing agency is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It should be noted that an important element to the free movement of skills is the appointment of a National and Regional Accreditation Council. At the national level, this Council is expected to establish a quality assurance framework for the Registration and Accreditation of Tertiary Level Institutions. To this end, the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago was recently established by the passage of Act No.16 on May 21st, 2004 and assented to and proclaimed by the President on July 9th, 2004.

As a right afforded to such CARICOM Nationals who are wage earners, the Agreement on the Transfer of Social Security Benefits came into effect on April 1st, 1997. This Agreement protects all entitlements to long term benefits by providing for the totalling of all the contributions which were paid to the respective Social Security Organisations in Member States, where a National previously worked. Suriname is the only exception since it does not have a comparable social security system. It should be noted however that a system of transfer is currently being devised to solve this problem.

It should be noted that the Tenth Special Meeting of Heads of Government held in Trinidad and Tobago in 2004 mandated the Prime Minister of Dominica to examine other categories of wage earners, to which this right could be extended. In this regard, discussions are currently underway for the expansion of the categories of skilled persons to those possessing qualifications in the technical and vocational fields as well as those acquiring associate degrees. The ultimate goal of free movement is that by 2008, all CARICOM Nationals would be able to access this right.

The Immigration (Exemption from Work Permit Requirement) Order, 2005 dated April 15th 2005 allows for the free movement of the following categories of non-wage earners.

i. persons wishing to establish a business; and
ii. persons wishing to provide a service on a temporary basis in Trinidad and Tobago.

Trinidad and Tobago remains mindful of the fact that the free movement of service providers requires some type of facilitating system that would ensure that bona fide service providers are granted access. As such, at the eighteenth (18th) Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), a proposal was put forth by the Trinidad and Tobago delegation for the introduction of a register of service providers. This recommendation was accepted and a detailed proposal is in its final stages of preparation before presentation to the Cabinet and submission to the CARICOM Secretariat.

The Intra Regional Double Taxation Agreement which came into force in 1994 protects self employed CARICOM Nationals from paying taxes twice on the same earnings. This Agreement is currently enacted in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. Suriname and Montserrat have no objection and will do same in the short term.


Supportive to the free movement of persons is the facilitation of intra regional travel through the:

 - Establishment of CARICOM National/Non-CARICOM National Lines at all ports of entry. As of January 1, 2004 Trinidad and Tobago joined all CARICOM Member States in implementing lines labeled CARICOM Nationals / Non CARICOM Nationals at all ports of entry.
 - Development and Use of a Common E/D Form. CARICOM Member States have agreed to the use of certain common core data on their E/D Form. At the same time, this agreement allows for variations depending on the needs of individual Member States. The need for a common format/design has been recognized and proposals are being reviewed by Member States.
 - CARICOM Passport: Suriname and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are currently the only two Member States which have issued national passports utilizing the common CARICOM format. Trinidad and Tobago is scheduled to introduce this format in January 2006.

The issue of Contingent rights consequent on the free movement of persons is the only area which remains outstanding and for which there needs to be a regional policy. Trinidad and Tobago, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry has however prepared a draft policy paper which when finalized, would be forwarded to the CARICOM Secretariat as an input into the regional policy.


With regard to the right to establish a commercial presence, Article 32 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas grants the Right to persons, companies and other legal entities such as partnerships. As such, an individual wishing to establish a business must be engaged in non-wage earning (self-employed persons) activities of a commercial, industrial, agricultural, professional or artisanal nature; or form or register a company if he/she wishes to engage in any of those types of economic activities. Accordingly, CARICOM Nationals wishing to establish a commercial presence under the CSME are allowed: 

 - Ease of entry to establish a commercial presence and indefinite stay to do so.
 - Ease of administration for the registering and/or incorporation of companies.
 - Access to capital in the receiving member state.
 - Access to land, buildings and other property for purposes directly related to the establishment of a business.
 - Freedom of entry for managerial, supervisory and technical staff and spouses and immediate dependent family members.

With respect to the registration and/or incorporation of companies in all Member States participating in the CSME, a person or company may establish a business presence, having complied with the relevant legal and administrative requirements provided under the laws of that Member State.


The Right of Establishment is currently operational subject to the rules and regulations governing the establishment of businesses in each respective Member State. With the coming on stream of harmonized Companies¡¦ legislation, companies and other business entities, which, once incorporated in one Member State, will be able to easily move to another Member State and establish a business presence, without the need for re-incorporation or registration.

In relation to the free movement of capital, such transactions are promoted in the CSME. As you are aware, Trinidad and Tobago for some time now has abolished Foreign Exchange Controls and there are no restrictions to Capital Market activity. Currently Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica comprise the Regional Stock Exchange.

An important development in international trade has been the growth in recent years of trade in services. It is therefore recognized that for an economic space to be achieved, there must be the free movement of services. Under the CSME, all Member States are required to remove restrictive or discriminatory measures in the areas of establishment, services and capital. These restrictive or discriminatory measures have been approved by the Council of Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and itemized for each Member State in a Programme for the Removal of Restrictions. A study by Dr. Noel Watson and Kimberley Erriah identified over 450 legal and administrative restrictions on such activity in place across the region and which need to be removed in order for the participating Member States to be CSME compliant.

For Trinidad and Tobago, a total of twenty-one (21) restrictive or discriminatory measures were identified in Trinidad and Tobago¡¦s Programme for the Removal of Restrictions. To date, work has been completed in all but three areas 

 - Taxation of dividends paid out of approved tourism projects
 - Taxi Services; and
 - Legal services

To date, Trinidad and Tobago has all the basic infrastructure in place for Single Market compliance and our position was advanced by the Rt. Honourable Owen Arthur of Barbados, Prime Minister with lead responsibility for the CSME, who reported that four (4) Member States- Belize, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are fully on schedule regarding the removal of such restrictions. It should be noted that the remaining nine (9) Members have not indicated their inability to meet the stipulated deadline.

In the case of the free movement of goods, for some time now, the region has had a fully developed and operating regime in both law and practice. The Free Movement of Goods within the Single Market, like that of the Common Market arrangement requires a set of administrative arrangements, which ensure that:



 - goods of Community origin are freely traded without imposition of external tariffs or discriminatory internal charges;
 - goods from outside the Single Market are subject to a uniform tax; and 
 - there is ease of administration in transportation and payments to facilitate trade and regional production.

Trinidad and Tobago, since 1999 has implemented the fourth phase of the Common External Tariff (CET). In the case where Member States have maintained certain non-tariff regulations on intra-regional commerce, the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) has set a schedule for their removal.

You will appreciate that the establishment of these mechanisms ¡V both the institutions and regimes will enable us to not only enjoy the benefits of the CSME but moreover to simplify our approach to negotiation of relevant issues with our sister states and the rest of the world. In addition to these benefits, the impending establishment of common, trade-related institutions and the harmonization of laws and practices will definitely improve our readiness to successfully participate at the:

i. Multilateral level within the framework of the WTO (Doha Agenda negotiations, targeted possible conclusion by 2006);
ii. Hemispheric level, through the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA);
iii. Inter-regional level in devising an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union; set deadline is January 2008; and
iv. Bi-lateral negotiations between CARICOM and countries or groups of countries in Central/ Latin America, e.g. CARICOM- Costa Rica.

Given the fact that the implementation of the CSME will not be finished or the CSME will not be a finite entity, but would rather evolve, several programmes and projects are contemplated to ensure its continued relevance and effectiveness. Article 239 of the Revised Treaty makes provisions for a ¡§Built in Agenda¡¨ to support the elaboration of future Protocols in areas where the region is conducting external negotiations but have no equivalent regional regime. These areas include electronic commerce and government procurement. The Built in Agenda also requires that future regional regimes be formulated to deal with the treatment of goods in free zones and similar jurisdictions, the free circulation of goods and rights contingent on the provision of the movement of capital and the establishment of enterprises, to give certainty and completeness to the liberalization process.

Additionally, the CARICOM Secretariat has earmarked in its work programme, a project aimed at the development and promotion of its tradable goods and services. This project is designed to provide support to CARICOM Trade facilitation institutions which will support exporters to deliver their goods and tradable services. This project is being done against the backdrop of CARICOM's extensive internal and external trade liberalisation programme involving the creation of the CSME participation in Bilateral Agreements, Regional Agreements, particularly EPAs and the FTAA and the Multilateral Trading Arrangements under the WTO, which will subject the region to intensive import competition.

Turning to the other aspect of the CSME - the Single Economy, the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas envisions this as an arrangement that would further harmonise economic, monetary and fiscal policies and measures across all Member States of the Caribbean Community to underpin the sustainable development of the region. It is therefore expected that this particular aspect would take the form of significant co-ordination of the development of sectoral policies, significant levels of integration of the production and financial sectors of Member States, the convergence of macro-economic policies and the building of a regional capital market. The Tenth Special Meeting of the Heads of Government held in November 2004 in Trinidad and Tobago, agreed to the following programmes for implementation: 

 - Agreement for the Development of Financial Services 
 - Framework for the Integration of the Capital Market 
 - Investment Policy Harmonization (Caribbean Investment Code)
 - Framework for the Harmonization of Fiscal Incentives 
 - Framework for Fiscal Policy Harmonization 
 - Framework for Monetary Cooperation

A series of brainstorming sessions are currently being held under the chairmanship of Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur and the recommendations are to be incorporated into the overall plan for the implementation of the Single Economy. Active discussions and implementation are expected to commence in 2006 with the creation of the Single Market.

Mr. President, it is acknowledged that the CSME will present certain economic challenges to our Member States, challenges which of course can be overcome through effective public education and the institution of appropriate corrective mechanisms. With respect to Public Education, which is deemed as one of the key elements in the implementation process, the Year 2005 has been designated the Year of the Single Market and each of the thirteen (13) participating Member States are involved in activities to recognize this. Trinidad and Tobago has in this regard adopted an holistic approach and since May 2004, launched an intensive National Public Education Programme. The Programme includes a well-developed advertising campaign using all forms of media and widespread outreach through presentations to all National Associations, Non-Governmental Organizations and members of Civil Society. The Programme is designed to reach every citizen of our Republic.

In terms of a compensatory and or corrective mechanism, the CSME has made provisions for the establishment of a Development Fund. This Fund is intended to provide relief to Member States, regions or sectors disadvantaged by economic dislocations arising from the CSME. The modalities of this Fund are currently being addressed and recommendations on the way forward have been put forth by a Technical Team established specifically for this purpose. These recommendations are expected to be finalized by the next Meeting of the Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) scheduled for September 2005 before presentation to the Heads of Government.

It is therefore clear that a Single Market and Economy is of strategic importance to us here in the region. The prospects for increased production and productivity, enhanced levels of international competitiveness, expansion of trade and economic relations with Third Countries, full employment of labour and factors of production; and improved standards of living and work are endless. As critical participants in and beneficiaries of, you must be appreciative of the fact that your value, role and purpose become all the more important in this arrangement. The benefits to you can be maximised through the creation of new alliances not just here in Trinidad and Tobago but also with your regional counterparts. At the same time, you must be cognizant that the CSME portends inter alia, a new business relationship in the form of new rights of establishment, greater economic mobility and choice, and the exposure to new systems of competition. Even though we here in Trinidad and Tobago continue to be at the helm of the regional trading arrangements and for which I wish to congratulate you, as critical players in this integrated network, it is important that in the face of a changing economic environment, you continually:
i. review your corporate structures to enable transformation within appropriate and harmonised national and regional tax and company legislation
ii. maintain standards and quality in production; and
iii. engage in good business practices.

In closing, I wish to remind you that the scope for economic integration as embodied in the CSME is surpassed among other economic blocs only by the provision of the European Union. Further the creation of the Single Market by December 31st 2005 will definitely mean that CARICOM took sixteen (16) years after the commitment at Grand Anse to do what Europe conceived in the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and achieved after 35 years.


I thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen.

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