By: Staff Writer
July 30, 2021
A senior academic political economist calls for a “Greater Caribbean Community” to be established to seize the moment on US president Biden’s administration for greater economic development as the “stars are aligned” for $6bn investment in industrial hubs.
Richard Feinberg, professor of international political economy at the University of California San Diego, speaking at a webinar hosted by the Wilson Centre, said: “This is really, a multi-generational opportunity to seize the moment to really focus on the Caribbean Basin…. There’s instability in a number of the countries that are making headlines in the region, serious threats to democratic governance, disruptions in global supply chains and geopolitical rivalries, which are playing out in the region.
“Plus, let’s not forget, you have the activism of several diaspora communities who have a lot of political heft here in the United States. So each of these big trends weigh heavily on Biden administration’s regional and global objectives.
“So therefore, the stars are aligned, let’s really seize the moment to put in place some special powerful instruments to try to shake the region out of let’s recognize an unsuccessful development position over the last several decades in general, in the Caribbean Basin, focusing on that.”
Mr Feinberg made these remarks while discussing his latest paper published through the Wilson Centre’s Latin America programme, “Widening the aperture: Nearshoring in our ‘near abroad’.” focusing on nearshoring opportunities for the Caribbean and Latin America.
The report outlines several initiatives that could bring US companies back to working with the Caribbean and Latin American nations, instead of them now currently in Far East Asia.
The 40 page report said, for instance, “As the Biden administration reimagines U.S. foreign policy, Latin America and the Caribbean could easily drop to the bottom of the policy deck. Inevitably, senior officials will focus on renewed great power competition, crisis hot spots in the Middle East, and, as always, European allies. Yet, the Western Hemisphere – especially the nearby Greater Caribbean Basin – offers a unique opportunity for the new administration to address a perennial foreign policy challenge and expand its ambitious domestic economic agenda beyond our borders.”
The report also highlights that while Globalisation may be stalled, regionalism is resurgent and there is a greater dependency on country to country trade and development. “The strong Chinese economy, an irresistible magnet for other Asian economies, has strengthened its regional status with the 2020 signing of the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); by reducing trade barriers, RCEP will encourage regional supply chains. Despite the exit of Great Britain, the European Union continues to bind its 27 member nations, fortifying supply chain linkages between the more developed West and the formerly socialist East. Russia is marshalling all its instruments of foreign policy to re-create the Russian Empire in its own “near abroad.” In 2018, the 54-member African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) was created.”
He added that despite the resurgence of regionalism in other parts of the world the Caribbean is left to stagnate and are left “floating on their own,” receiving no attention from the world’s only super power in that of he US.
As a result, Mr Feinberg called for a $1bn investment in industrial hubs in the Caribbean. “I propose in my paper to develop more rigorous larger supply chains building on what already exists in the region. I propose investments of $1 billion in each of five to six industrial hubs or parks in the Caribbean.”
Reiterating the moment to seize this opportunity is now before China builds greater political and economic clout in the region, Mr Feinberg said: “What I’m arguing for here is to seize the moment and focus to really develop some powerful programs in the region that alter that alter the status quo in important ways that alter the way investors domestic and international look at reach.”
The report also called for building a new Caribbean Basin Initiative, calling it the “Greater Caribbean Community” which would include, Central America, as well as Mexico, Colombia, and eventually Venezuela, for them to be eligible for special economic programmes under the Biden administration. Further saying that a successful GCC could transform a perennially troublesome region into a 21st century diplomatic and economic triumph.
See report here:
WideningTheApertureNearshoringInOurNearAbroadRichardEFeinbergApril2021