Gender, Trade Liberalization and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy: Challenges and Options for Civil Society

Abstract

The Current Conjuncture: In Summary Form A brief overview of some of important features of current conjuncture which demonstrates interconnectedness between global and hemispheric trade regimes, evolving CARICOM Single Market and Economy and gendered realities of women and men, is a useful way to begin this discussion. During 1980s, overall economic policy environment Caribbean was characterized by economic reforms which moved through stabilization to structural adjustment The IDB (1998:1) notes that in countries such as Jamaica and Guyana, acute economic situation required comprehensive adjustment strategies which involved harsh austerity measures, supported by loans from IMF and World Bank. Other countries such as Grenada and Suriname, designed their own home grown adjustment early 199Os, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago were pursuing various types of structural adjustment programmes. The Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) undertaken region included trade liberalization, tax reform, privatization, reduced government involvement economic activities, as well as reduced budgetary support for critical social services and infrastructure. As globalization process intensified, and global trade policy was increasingly determined by a complex of multilateral trade agreements, room for Caribbean countries to manoeuvre policy options was increasingly restricted. By 1992, countries of Caribbean Basin had already taken first step towards free trade by signing Framework Agreements on Trade and Investment, with United States. The groundwork for this step had already been prepared, as many countries had begun a process of trade liberalization mid to late 1980s largely as part of policy conditionalities linked to structural adjustment agreements with multilateral agencies such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund. (Wedderburn 1998: 24). The economic reform process with trade liberalization as a major focus, proceeded more rapidly, more comprehensively under WTO after 1995. With limited policy options, limited resource base and productive capacity, small size and, some cases, a debt burden, among other problems, Caribbean nations saw a trade and investment agreement with United States as an attractive option. Any other option, as attempted even tentatively by Jamaica, Grenada and Guyana, was viewed with much disquiet and suspicion by United States, major trading and donor partner of several CARICOM countries. In 1995, against this background, CARICOM governments like most others of world, signed on to Beijing Platform of Action. With this act, they committed to improving conditions of life and opportunities for women several specific areas. Some are relevant to multilateral and regional trading agreements. Specifically, paragraph 165 (k) reads: the governments: seek to ensure that national policies related to international and regional trade agreements do not have an adverse impact on women's new and traditional activities. Ten years later, there is a growing recognition that little progress has been made most countries towards fulfilling these commitments. Instead, extremes of poverty and wealth are now more evident. In CARICOM countries, fiscal policy as part of economic reforms impacted social policy, and resulting redistribution of budgetary resources associated with these reforms seriously affected resources available for health, education and critical subsidies for various social Given socially defined roles of women, they ended up being 'de facto' providers of those social services no longer supplied by public sector. More recently, 2000, governments of world adopted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals are being used as an important instrument for guiding policy Caribbean towards achievement of a number of specific goals and targets. …