Categories: Current Events

On January 30, Prime Minister P.J Patterson officially signed Jamaica into the CSM. Heads of Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago also signed on. The event took place at the UWI Mona Visitors Lounge at 4 pm, and was attended by many dignitaries, including Jamaica’s Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke. The CSM offically came into effect on January 1. The other member states (Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) will sign up by the end of June.

All you non-Caribbean readers must be wondering, “What is the CSM?” Well, it’s the Caribbean version of the EU. It is believed to benefit all participants, by offering easier movement of citizens, encouraging trade, strengthening regional ties, etc. Unity is strength after all. While it seems beneficial in theory, I doubt it will be so in practice. I believe some countries will gain much greater benefits than others. Others will get little, and some will get none. Remember the great economic miracle that globalization was promised to be?

I think countries like Barbados and T&T will use the CSM to invade Jamaica’s private sector. There are already a few Trinidadian firms here, most notably RBTT and the formerly Jamaican-owned Carib Cement. Most countries prefer to employ nationals over foreigners. The opposite is true in Jamaica, and the CSM will make already scarce jobs even more so. But in the words of the immortal Bob Marley, “Time will tell.”