The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (CARICOM)
CARICOM, established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas in 1973 is a regional agreement that is geared towards achieving deeper integration within the Caribbean Community. It rests on four (4) main pillars: economic integration, foreign policy coordination; human and social development and security. The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) was borne out of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (2001) and is at the heart of CARICOM’s economic integration.
The ultimate goal of the CSME is to provide the foundation for growth and development through the creation of a single economic space for the production of competitive goods and services. This is supported by its five regimes: free movement of goods, people, services and capital and the right of establishment of business. The free movement of goods is supported by the Common External Tariff (CET), which applies to goods originating outside of CARICOM and is operated by all members of the CSME. Under this regime, member states of the CSME are not required to pay import duties or ODCs (additional stamp duty in the case of Jamaica) on goods of Common Market origin.
