EDITORIAL:More of the same ahead

THERE have always been spirited debates in this region about which party in the USA, when in government, is more favourable to the Caribbean. While it is recognised that people have their own opinions and many indulge in playing off one side against the other, in actual fact there is no difference in policy, especially of late.

 

The current presidential election has reopened the debate as some vouch for the Republicans whereas others are opting for the Democrats. There are those who insist that the Republicans have done more for this region than the Democrats have, and vice versa.

 

 It is an election which people, and certainly several of them in Barbados, are paying very close attention to even if that has to do with following the twists and turns of the campaign, the debates  – the last of which ended just under a week ago – and the opinion polls measuring the progress of Hilary Clinton against that of Donald Trump. People are also arguing about which television network is favouring which candidate.

 

However, when it comes to the Caribbean, recent evidence suggests there are similarities in policies pursued. Before the end of the Cold War (that is, tensions between the USA and the then Soviet Union), the Caribbean occupied a prominent position in the foreign policy making in the USA. The USA has always been keen to keep outside influences like Communism from this region as well as from the broader Latin America. In pursuing that goal USA policy was to push for economic assistance to countries in the Western hemisphere.

 

One such policy conceptualised by Republican President Ronald Reagan was the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), which provided economic assistance as well as market access to the USA for Caribbean goods (excluding sugar) and services. Prior to that facility, there was the Alliance for Progress created by the Democrats, which had similar aims in mind. That policy was to ensure that regional countries did not go the Communist route as Cuba did.

 

 In the mid-1990s the then US President Bill Clinton instituted the Free Trade Area of the America to build on NAFTA that would bring the entire region closer as Europe was progressing towards greater integration with a single market.

 

 Since 2000 Republicans have also promoted the idea of greater trade with the Caribbean and have financed a number of programmes in the area of security, education, and human resources development. 

 

Both Republicans and Democrats fought strenuous trade battles for a greater share of the European banana market for American companies operating in Central America. This was at the expense of Caribbean producers whose tiny share of the EU market meant nothing to the other side. The two parties have taken a no-nonsense approach to offshore jurisdictions such as what we have in the Caribbean. Through its sidekick institutions like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and similar bodies, they have sought to root out money laundering, ensuring that more tax dollars flow back to the USA from American companies operating in this region and to get these jurisdictions to comply with legislation, including FATCA.

 

With two weeks to go to the November 8th elections, the countdown is certainly on as both sides will pull out all the stops to enhance their chances.

It therefore promises to be more of the same, whoever wins the race to the White House.