Source: Trinidad & Tobago NEWSDAY
The Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) has warned that the Caricom market is currently “indispensable” to TT’s economic resilience.
In a media release on December 23, JCC President Fazir Khan stated that TT should reject any notion that it could prosper without the support of CARICOM.
His comments follow statements by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who criticised Caricom, describing it as fractured and an “unreliable partner”. She added that TT is seeking partnerships beyond the region.
She claimed Caricom members had sided with Venezuela against the US in the latter’s war against drug trafficking and that Antiguans were “bad-mouthing” the US, which resulted in further visa restrictions being placed on that country.
In a response on Facebook on December 21, Browne took umbrage with the claim of being an unreliable partner, noting Caricom was TT’s second-largest export market, behind the US.
“In 2024 alone, TT 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,” he said.
Khan agreed that TT 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.”
He said for the domestic construction industry, this regional demand translates into jobs for technicians, engineers, contractors and professional consultants who would otherwise be constrained by the vagaries of the local market.
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 TT, 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.”
Asked on Newsday on December 22 whether withdrawal from Caricom was being considered by herself or Cabinet, Persad-Bissessar said, “Withdrawal from Caricom has not been discussed by Cabinet.”
She said she was also not worried about any economic impact owing to the Caricom divide.