Caricom to open trade office in Cuba

Caricom to open trade office in Cuba

CUBA STANDARD — The Caribbean Community (Caricom) plans to open a trade
facilitation office in Cuba, which is not a member of the bloc.

The office in Havana, together with offices in the Dominican Republic,
Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela, will be "key to the region taking
greater advantage of trade agreements with third countries," the
Guyana-based Caricom Secretariat said in a statement.

Caricom trade with Cuba and other nations in the region, which have
bilateral trade agreements with the bloc, has been "weak," according to
the bloc.

The Caricom secretariat is acting on the recommendation of a study by
BKP Research and Consulting in Germany. In particular the consultant
highlights the need for improved communication with and assistance for
regional exporters via trade facilitation offices. Senior trade
officials in the region will review the findings of the study in
mid-February.

The study notes that "the divergence in interests between Caricom
members, which is the result of vast differences in their economic
structures," is a major obstacle to overcome.

Full Caricom members are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad &
Tobago. Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and
Turks and Caicos have association agreements.