The Caribbean Community is investigating whether member states can manufacture enough paint, cement, glass bottles and bitumen to satisfy internal demand, as part of a broader effort to build trade resilience amid global supply chain strain.
Four working teams will gather in October to evaluate production levels across the region for these four materials. Bitumen, a petroleum derivative essential for road-building projects, ranks alongside cement, paint and glass bottles as critical inputs for construction and manufacturing sectors throughout the Caribbean.
The assessments may lead to changes in import tariffs, potentially allowing regional producers to compete more effectively against foreign suppliers. This move responds to mounting pressures on international commerce: US tariff policies combined with Middle Eastern conflicts have disrupted shipping lanes and inflated transportation expenses, creating volatility in global trade.
Yet CARICOM is proceeding with caution. The regional organisation has instructed the assessment teams to weigh whether Caribbean manufacturers can deliver both competitive pricing and dependable supply without imposing extra costs on businesses and households that depend on these goods.
Ambassador Wayne McCook, CARICOM's Assistant Secretary-General for the Single Market and Trade, emphasised that the evaluations must address production capacity, transportation expenses, import tariffs and other structural obstacles that could make intra-regional commerce costlier than sourcing from abroad.
Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago will each send representatives to participate in the process. Once complete, their findings will inform trade ministers' decisions on whether to modify existing tariff frameworks to encourage greater commerce within the bloc.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first.