Membership of the Organisation

example callaloo soup, can be savoured in any island; and in their passion for cricket and the West Indies cricket team in the former British colonies.

Over the centuries, from the days of colonisation, the people of the Eastern Caribbean have mixed through marriage, sports, inter island travel and migration. Persons from different islands have attained prominent positions in the societies and governments of other islands. For example, the first Chief Minister (1960) of St. Kitts–Nevis–Anguilla and later Deputy Premier and Premier (1978) of St. Kitts and Nevis, Paul Southwell, was from Dominica. Sir John Compton, who was Head of Government of Saint Lucia (1964-1979; 1982-1996; 2006-2007) was born and spent his early childhood in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Sir Dwight Venner, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (1989-2015), was born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, went to school in St. Vincent, Grenada and Saint Lucia. Sir Wilfred Jacobs, who became the first Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda in 1981, and prior to this, a Magistrate in Dominica and St. Kitts and Nevis, and Attorney General of the Leeward Islands, was born in Grenada. Two other Grenadians served as Attorneys General in other islands – Cosmos Phillip in Antigua from 1976-1979; and Barrymore Renwick in Saint Lucia.

In regional sports, for years the Windward and Leeward Islands fielded one cricket team (the Combined Islands) in regional cricket tournaments. History therefore has been shaping the people of the islands of the Eastern Caribbean into one family, one community that can readily embrace regional integration. The accession to the OECS of the French overseas departments of Martinique (in 2015) and Guadeloupe (in 2019) strengthened the capacity of the islands towards closer integration. Geographically, Martinique is located in the centre of the arc of Eastern Caribbean islands, a mere 24 miles from Saint Lucia with which it has traditionally enjoyed close relations both at official level and that of the people who have visited and traded with each other from time immemorial. Guadeloupe is to the north of Dominica which finds itself between that island and Martinique; and the same type of close relations between the people of Martinique and Saint Lucia exists between those of Dominica and Guadeloupe.

In all four countries the people (approximately ninety percent) speak a similar Kweyol language (derived from French with an African syntax; it was also spoken in Grenada in the past) as Saint Lucia and Dominica were former French colonies at some period in their history. Indeed, the membership of Martinique and Guadeloupe in the OECS with their relatively large populations (Martinique, 375,673; Guadeloupe 399,848) means that Kwéyòl is now the language of the majority of the people of the OECS. Martinique and Guadeloupe have done more than simply increase the land size, marine space and population of the OECS; with their more advanced economic status, in comparison to the other member countries, they have brought technical and financial resources that will assist with the development aspirations of the OECS. Indeed, the inclusion of these two French speaking states in the OECS is a reaffirmation of the inclination of the Eastern Caribbean islands towards cooperation and integration.

Teacher’s Resource Book

BUILDING OUR SINGLE ECONOMY

OECS Economic Union

Through the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union Protocol of the Revised Treaty of Basseterre, the Member States of the OECS are building one economy for the region. A single large economy of the seven small economies of the islands promotes trade, business and economic opportunities for all their citizens. Building one economy entails:

● Allowing freedom of all forms of trade and economic activity between the Member States

● Undertaking common economic policies.

FREEDOM OF TRADE AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS

The free circulation or trade in goods within the common economic space is basic to the proper functioning of any economic union. Companies in the OECS have the right to export goods among the seven Protocol Member States without having to pay customs duties or tariffs on these goods as long as they meet the originating criteria. The goods will however be subject to domestic taxes like the value added tax. For example, rice produced in St. Vincent and the Grenadines can be exported to any of the seven Protocol Member States without having to pay the duties or tariffs charged on rice from the United States. Goods produced in the OECS are therefore made more affordable for OECS consumers than those from outside the region. The free movement of goods within the region helps the growth of local businesses.

The major goods traded between the countries of the OECS are manufactured articles, fresh produce, processed foods, and beverages. In 2016 and 2017, the countries exporting the most to other OECS Member States were Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

TABLE 2.1 Pattern of Trade in Goods between OECS Member States in 2018

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA GRENADA ST. KITTS AND NEVIS SAINT LUCIA ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

Exports

(EC$ Million)

Imports (EC$ Million) 2.20 8.76 27.44 15.56 15.23 20.91 23.45 33.03 60.22 10.87

Source: OECS Trade Policy Unit: OECS Trade Performance Review 2016-2017

TABLE 2.2 Pattern of Trade in Goods between OECS Member States in 2017

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA GRENADA ST. KITTS AND NEVIS SAINT LUCIA ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

Exports

(EC $ Million)

Imports

(EC $ Million) 16.74 31.89 25.87 15.97 2.65 24.28 27.17 29.76 64.84 10.09

Source: OECS Trade Policy Unit: OECS Trade Performance Review 2016-2017

The level of trade between OECS Member States is low compared with trade with non OECS Countries. In fact, the countries of the OECS import more from outside the Eastern Caribbean than they do from within the region. OECS Member States conduct more trade with the USA, the United Kingdom (UK), Spain, and France and within the wider Caribbean, with Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana than they do with each other. To strengthen the capacity for exports from OECS Member States, the OECS Commission provides technical assistance to companies in the Member States to enable them to increase their exports. The Commission works with these firms as well as the Governments and public sector agencies to make Eastern Caribbean businesses more competitive.

In addition, in 2018, an initiative spearheaded by the Martinique Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the OECS Commission and the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA), provided new opportunities for the expansion of inter-regional trade. The Trade Enhancement for the Eastern Caribbean (TEECA) programme was established in January 2018 with the aim of enhancing trade and investment opportunities between Martinique and other Member States of the OECS. It was devised by the Martinique Chamber of Commerce for companies in that French Overseas Department which traditionally saw France as their primary export destination but which needed to take advantage of new markets in the OECS facilitated by Martinique’s membership of the organisation; and the same thinking was applied to companies in the English-speaking OECS Member States for whom Martinique could now be a more accessible market. The two-year programme, funded by the Interreg Caraibes European Regional Development Fund, targeted small and medium enterprises in the OECS in five main sectors: manufacturing, agro processing, information and communication technology, music, fashion and green industries. TEECA prepares companies to be able to export by providing adequate knowledge of their markets and their legal environment; ensuring the export readiness of their products and services; developing export strategies; introducing them to potential business partners; and providing language training. Thirty small- and mediumsize enterprises were selected for the programme which provided them with two years of individual and group coaching. The programme also contained a youth outreach element- a Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge by which tertiary level students from Martinique and other OECS states participate in cultural exchanges through an entrepreneurship and business capacity competition. The programme’s first major activity was a Business Retreat in Martinique from 1- 3 July 2018 for fifteen enterprises from Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and their counterparts from Martinique.

OECS Economic Union

The free movement of persons enables each country to draw from a larger pool of people to contribute to its economy than what is available in each country. Freedom of movement of persons within an economic union is necessary for the fulfilment of the objectives of the union.

FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS

Citizens of the seven OECS Protocol Member States are free to move throughout the seven Protocol Member States to work, establish businesses, to provide services and to stay in any of the seven Protocol Member States indefinitely. They can travel without a passport using other forms of national identification. The free movement of persons contributes to the economic development of the seven Protocol Member States as those persons who cannot find employment and business opportunities in their island home, or who are attracted to better opportunities in other Member States, are not debarred from seeking such opportunities in the other islands of the regional grouping.

FREE MOVEMENT OF SERVICES

Complementing the free movement of goods and people is the free movement of services. Under the provisions for free moment of services, citizens of the seven Protocol Member States can establish a business in any of the seven Protocol Member States with minimal restrictions. They have the right to provide professional services once they meet the relevant regulatory requirements which apply to nationals of the country, such as licensing and registration, in any Economic Union Member State and in any field; be it artistic, medical, legal, financial, management or tourism. For example, a professional singer who earns his livelihood singing at hotels in one of the seven Protocol Member States or a medical doctor with a practice in one Protocol Member State can both travel to any of the other Protocol Member States to do the same without requiring permission from the Government authorities in the recipient country; Prior to the Economic Union Protocol, nationals of the seven Protocol Member States had to obtain a work permit from the Government of an Economic Union country in order to work or conduct business in that country. This is no longer necessary.

Trade in services can be carried out through four main modes of supply: 1. Cross border supply – for example, an architect in Saint

Lucia can submit plans via email for the construction of a building to a client in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and undertake meetings with the client via web conferencing. 2. Consumption abroad occurs, if, for example, a Dominican travels to Antigua and Barbuda to undertake a medical procedure or when hotel services are provided for a visitor to Saint Lucia from the USA. 3. Commercial presence – an example of this would be, a

Credit Union from Saint Lucia establishing a branch in

Grenada. 4. Movement of Natural Persons is the fourth mode; in this case, for example, a singer from Montserrat performs at a festival in

St. Kitts and Nevis and returns home thereafter.

TABLE 3.1 OECS Total Trade in Services 2016-2017 (In EC$M)

OECS Economic Union

MEMBER STATES 2016 2017 IMPORTS EXPORTS TRADE BALANCE IMPORTS EXPORTS TRADE BALANCE

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA DOMINICA

1264.93 2568.20 1303.27 1178.72 2512.48 1333.76 373.75 625.73 251.98 360.83 572.29 211.45 GRENADA 577.49 1310.29 732.80 623.11 1482.98 859.86 MONTSERRAT 65.93 42.51 (23.42) 61.80 40.41 (21.39)

ST KITTS AND

NEVIS 593.25 1316.75 723.50 601.70 1357.63 755.94 SAINT LUCIA 926.17 2225.25 1299.08 952.55 2315.16 1362.60

ST. VINCENT AND

THE GRENADINES 362.40 673.59 311.19 367.04 663.58 296.54

Source: OECS Trade Policy Unit: OECS Trade Performance Review 2016-2017: ECCB Stats

Services trade in the OECS consists mainly of travel services, transportation, air transport, insurance services and other business services. Trade in services has become a significant element in the overall trade of OECS Member States accounting for 80% of the Gross Domestic Product of the countries, according to Volume 3 of “The OECS and Trade in Services”, published in 2016 by the OECS Commission. This is chiefly because the economies of the countries are highly dependent on the tourism industry and its services, as this drives their economic growth and employment. For example, according to a 7 April 2017, World Bank Statement, tourism accounted for 61%, 50%, and 45% of the export earnings of Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada respectively. Since tourist arrivals to the countries originate chiefly from North America, the UK and Europe, their trade in services, like their trade in goods, is mainly with countries outside of the OECS. Table 3.1 shows the value of Total Trade in Service in the OECS in 2016 and 2017 for each country. Table 3.2 shows intra-OECS trade in services in 2017 is a small percentage of the total services trade of the countries, indicating that there is much room for growth in that sector.

TABLE 3.2 OECS Regional Trade in Services 2017 (%age of total trade)

COUNTRY IMPORTS FROM EECU COUNTRIES EXPORTS TO ECCU COUNTRIES

ANTIGUA/BARBUDA DOMINICA

5.6 16.9

GRENADA MONTSERRAT ST. KITTS NEVIS

18.0 11.7 8.7

SAINT LUCIA

7.0

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES Average %

16.2

12.0

Source: OECS Trade Policy Unit: OECS Trade Performance Review 2016-2017: ECCB Stats