There is a call for dialogue between the United States and countries of the Caribbean there are likely to be negatively impacted by recent policy announcements from the Trump Administration.
Making the call is the Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne who noted that small countries of the region especially those in the Eastern Caribbean could be the ‘unintended victims’ of these policies if there are to take effect.
PM Browne specifically mentioned three new policy announcements from the US; the employment of Cuban doctors within the health services of the region; the purchase of petroleum products from Venezuela and the importation of goods into the region on Chinese built vessels.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne show last Saturday, the prime minister said the policies have the potential to ‘upend the economies’ of the small states of the Eastern Caribbean.
On the issue of the purchase of oil from Venezuela, PM Browne noted that while his administration has not purchased any such products from Venezuela, the arrangements under which these purchases were made by the previous government have been beneficial to Antigua and Barbuda.
He said the arrangements to sell petroleum products on credit benefitted the countries of the Eastern Caribbean and he is asking the Americans to consider a special ‘carve out’ for the sub-region whenever it plans to implement that policy.
The nation’s leader acknowledged that the $500 million dollars- worth of petroleum products purchased under the UPP Administration from Venezuela ‘was a lifeline as it saved the country from collapse’ during the global financial crisis at the time.
Similarly, with regard to the use of Chinese built ships, the prime minister suggests that this policy could add up to US$4,000.00 on the cost of shipping a container from Miami to St. John’s which could be devastating for the local economy as it would cause inflation to rise exponentially.
“At some point, I am hoping that we can have a broader discussion with US Secretary of State for him to understand that even if Venezuela was to continue supplying the countries of the Caribbean, especially the OECS, the magnitude of the sale cannot keep a regime in power based on the small amount of money, but giving us the credit can make a difference in our development,” he explained.
PM Browne reiterated that he is not interfering in the internal politics of the United States, however, he emphasized that where US policies impact negatively on the country, then it has an obligation to speak out and to defend its sovereignty.
