Caribbean Community and Common Market

Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), organization founded by the Treaty of Chaguaramas (Trinidad; 1973, revised 2001) and including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti (suspended 2004-6), Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands are associate members. Its purpose is to promote economic integration and development, especially in less-developed areas of the region. Besides managing a common market, CARICOM formulates policies regarding health, education, labor, science and technology, tourism, foreign policy, and the environment. CARICOM's headquarters are in Georgetown, Guyana. In 2005 the organization established the Caribbean Court of Justice, which functions for participating nations as a final court of appeals and as a court of original jurisdiction for settling disputes among CARICOM nations. In 2006 Caricom inaugurated its single market and economy when six of its members participated in the establishment of a CARICOM single market. The establishment of a single economy for participating nations is planned for 2008. Other affiliated institutions include the Caribbean Development Bank, the Univ. of Guyana, and the Univ. of the West Indies.

Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) Caribbean economic union. CARICOM was formed in 1973 by the Treaty of Chaguaramas to coordinate economic and foreign policy in the West Indies. Most members rely on the export of sugar and tropical fruits and are heavily dependent on imports, so competition for foreign markets is fierce. The headquarters are in Georgetown, Guyana.

http://www.caricom.org

Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) An organization formed in 1973 to promote unity among the many small nations of the Caribbean. The main purpose of the organization is to promote the economic integration of its 14 members by means of a Caribbean Common Market, replacing the former body, the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA). Member nations also cooperate on other projects in areas such as health, education, and agricultural development. A summit meeting in 1984 agreed to create a single market, but many issues were unresolved. At subsequent annual summit meetings disagreements were gradually settled and in 1995 the members decided to remove all internal trade tariffs by the end of the year. Its headquarters are in Georgetown, Guyana.