IOB Director: TT needs Caricom for competitive edge

Rolph Balgobin, executive director, UWI Institute of Business (UWI/IOB) believes that the only way that Trinidad and Tobago can become  more competitive is collaborating with other Caribbean countries.

“TT’s advancement will not be a national advance but a regional advance through Caricom,” he said. However, the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) is going to be the determining force of how strong this region is in terms of competitiveness. Speaking at the UWI-IOB Ideas Forum last week at the Trinidad Hilton, Balgobin said the question that lies in this situation is how does TT make its way in this sort of an environment, since the CSME runs the very real risk of being overtaken by the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

“The challenge and imperative that we face within the region is do we compete together voluntarily now or have it done to us later,” he said, noting that question of how it is going to be done is being pushed to the back. What has to be decided now is “when” and “who.” Balgobin said there is a consensus among this region’s major trading partners that they prefer to deal with Caricom countries as a bloc, noting though that there are clear advantages and disadvantages to a unilateral position. “We do see some of the more successful developing countries in the world taking a unilateral stance engaging with trading partners and doing quite well, but whether that is a model that is sustainable to the Caricom region or not is difficult to day at this point in time,” he told his audience. He said it is going to be fundamentally difficult for TT to face other countries alone, especially when FTAA is implemented.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s discussions with some of the other heads of governments is really a voluntary move for closer integration but whether that can be accomplished before FTAA is another issue. Balgobin said TT and other Caricom countries need to urgently address whether they are going to get ready for FTAA and have collaborative mechanisms in place, “or is this region going to play ‘catch-up’ once the FTAA is implemented. “FTAA is going to do tremendous damage to our industries if we are caught on the back foot,” he said. He said all countries of this region have well advanced communications technology and they should be very well aware of the adjustments that are required. He said while these adjustments might not be  politically expedient to implement, these countries must be aware of the changes necessary to be ready for FTAA.

However, he said even as TT tries to educate the lesser partners within Caricom, it also has to evaluate which industries it wants to participate in and decide which ones are sustainable. “Its not just a question of raising awareness in the region,” he said, noting that some manufacturers have developed very strong export markets and doing quite well, others are suffering.