VZCZCXRO8209
PP RUEHAG RUEHAP RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHGI RUEHGR RUEHHM RUEHLZ RUEHMR
RUEHPA RUEHPB
DE RUEHWN #1286/01 2022046
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 212046Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2982
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNWTO/WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0244
RUEHCV/USDAO CARACAS VE PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 001286 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD EAGR EAID PREL PINR WTO XL
SUBJECT: CARICOM HEADS SPEAK OUT ON DOHA ROUND 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  At their recent annual meeting, CARICOM 
Heads of Government (HOGs) said they felt marginalized in 
World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha round negotiations.  In 
the HOGs' opinion, "small and vulnerable economies" are being 
ignored in the trade talks, which have been dominated by the 
interests of larger nations.  The size issue is of vital 
importance to Caribbean countries.  If GDP per capita is the 
sole measure of development, then many of these countries are 
too wealthy to qualify for the special treatment they desire. 
 While the issue of "small and vulnerable economies" has 
apparently not gained much traction at the WTO, paying more 
attention to CARICOM's entreaties might assuage their 
feelings of exclusion and encourage these fourteen Caribbean 
nations to join in more U.S. Doha initiatives.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government 
held their annual meeting July 3-6 in the Federation of St. 
Kitts and Nevis.  (Note:  CARICOM is made up of Antigua and 
Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, 
Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. 
Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad 
and Tobago.  All but Montserrat are independent countries. 
End Note.)  The heads discussed a broad spectrum of issues 
(septel), and concerns over the direction of the WTO Doha 
round figured prominently in the deliberations.  Common 
themes in the Doha discussion were lack of attention to 
Caribbean views in general and the quest for special and 
differential treatment for small and vulnerable economies in 
particular. 
 
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Trade Developments at the HOGs Meeting 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Jamaica's new Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, 
encapsulated CARICOM's trade position when she charged, "From 
CARICOM's perspective, the development agenda has not 
received adequate attention (in WTO talks).  Neither has 
sufficient willingness been shown by the major players to 
concretely address the needs of small and vulnerable 
economies such as our own."  She then emphasized that trade 
must promote development and development must reduce poverty. 
 The heads also discussed dwindling European Union (EU) sugar 
and banana preferences and CARICOM efforts to obtain aid from 
the EU to help Caribbean economies transition away from these 
crops.  The HOGs expressed their frustration at a lack of 
progress in the Doha round and discussed ramping up bilateral 
trade negotiations, particularly the ongoing negotiations 
with the EU and Canada.  In addition, they decided to explore 
further the idea of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the 
United States. 
 
------------------ 
The CSME as a Base 
------------------ 
 
¶4.  (U) At the HOGs meeting, six more countries (Antigua and 
Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, 
and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) signed on to the single 
market phase of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), 
bringing the total number of signatories to twelve (septel). 
Of CARICOM members, only the Bahamas, Haiti, and Montserrat 
have not joined the regional trading bloc.  The CSME has been 
decades in the making, and it will eventually allow the free 
movement of labor, capital, goods, and services throughout 
the region, with a common currency to follow.  CARICOM 
member-states hope this regional trading arrangement will 
give them a stronger position at the WTO and in bilateral 
negotiations between CARICOM and trading partners. 
 
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Comment 
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¶5.  (SBU) Since the early 1980's, CARICOM nations have 
enjoyed unreciprocal duty-free access for many of their 
exports to the U.S. and European Union (EU) markets through 
the Caribbean Basin Initiative and Lome Convention (succeeded 
by the Cotonou Convention), respectively.  These special 
arrangements expire around 2007, however, and the WTO, EU, 
and U.S. have stipulated that replacement agreements must be 
reciprocal.  Having become accustomed to the privileged 
position of exporting duty free while maintaining high import 
tariffs, CARICOM nations oppose changes to the status quo. 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00001286  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Despite their misgivings, Caribbean nations want the Doha 
round to get back on track.  With their small markets and 
relative geopolitical obscurity, these countries realize that 
the rules-based multilateral trading system of the WTO gives 
them influence on trade policy well beyond what they could 
command bilaterally. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  While CARICOM supports the WTO process, its 
member-states have become increasingly frustrated at a lack 
of progress on their issues, particularly giving special 
treatment to small and vulnerable economies.  Size matters to 
CARICOM.  Many Caribbean countries are too wealthy to qualify 
for the special treatment they desire under a pure GDP per 
capita measure.  To circumvent this obstacle, CARICOM 
countries want size and perceived economic vulnerability to 
factor into WTO agreements on special and differential 
treatment.  The U.S. justifiably has more important 
priorities in the Doha context, such as working with the 
major players to get negotiations moving again. 
Nevertheless, any increase in USG attention to CARICOM's 
trade concerns may allay their feelings of exclusion and 
encourage the Caribbean to join in more U.S. Doha 
initiatives. 
KRAMER