The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), established by the 1973 Treaty of Chaguaramas, created a customs union and later introduced a Common External Tariff (CET) in 1992. Under the 2001 Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), the regional arrangement was further deepened to facilitate the free movement of goods, services, labour and capital, as well as the right to commercially establish businesses throughout the Community. Currently, only the CARICOM Single Market is operational. The Treaty also provides for the implementation of a common trade policy.

 

Members of the CSME are:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Barbados
• Belize
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• St. Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago

It should be noted that the Bahamas and Montserrat are not participating in the CSM.

 

Rules of Origin/Cumulation: To qualify for duty free treatment, goods must be wholly produced within the Community or produced within the Community from materials imported from outside that have been substantially transformed. That is, they must ultimately be classified under a different tariff heading from that of the source materials.

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