Take decisive action on volatile issues affecting regions today – COTED Chair to trade ministers

The Chair of the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), Hon. Kerrie Symmonds, has emphasized the critical role of the Council in steering the region through an increasingly complex and volatile global trade landscape.
Speaking at the opening of the Sixtieth Regular Meeting of COTED at the CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana, on Tuesday, Jun 11, Symmonds highlighted the urgent need for co-ordinated regional action in response to ongoing economic disruptions caused by global supply chain bottlenecks, rising shipping costs, and geopolitical tensions.

He also noted that inflationary pressures, commodity price volatility, and restrictive trade measures by major economies have placed small and vulnerable CARICOM states at greater risk. These challenges, he said, demand decisive leadership and collective policy solutions aimed at strengthening regional trade integration, improving production resilience, and ensuring food and energy security across the Caribbean.
The COTED Chair called on fellow trade ministers to move beyond rhetoric and implement bold, forward-looking measures that will secure the region’s economic future in the face of global uncertainty.
“Two years ago, we could never have imagined the turmoil with which the global trading system and the global economy are now confronted. Our business community is reeling from cancelled export orders, the imposition of new and unexpected tariffs, and unprecedented uncertainties.”
He urged COTED to take swift and decisive action in addressing the pressing trade and economic challenges facing the Caribbean region. He stressed the urgent need for CARICOM to strengthen its external trade position by ensuring that regional exports are able to access international markets with minimal barriers.
“The question of whether our exports can enter markets with the least possible barriers and whether imports reach us in a timely, safe, and affordable manner will all impact the performance of our economies and determine whether we thrive or struggle as a community.”
Symmonds underscored that overcoming tariff and non-tariff obstacles is essential not only for boosting competitiveness but also for safeguarding the region’s economic growth and development in an increasingly protectionist global environment.
CARICOM trade ministers met from June 10 to 11, to address an agenda dealing with the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), proposed implementation of the revised Common External Tariff (CET), progress of the Sectoral Working Group reviewing CARICOM Rules of Origin, and reports from the monitoring mechanisms on sugar, cement, and rice.

Key external trade issues, including the impact of the America First Policy on CARICOM, negotiations on CARICOM-Colombia trade agreements, and Belize’s partial scope agreement with El Salvador, also received the ministers’ attention. Regional standards, reports on the industrial policy, and public procurement mechanisms were also on the agenda.