Caribbean Free Trade Association

The origins of CARIFTA lay in a meeting on July 4, 1965, between the Prime Ministers of Barbados and British Guiana (Errol Barrow and Forbes Burnham respectively) to discuss the possibility of establishing a free trade area between the two territories, which at the time were moving towards independence from the United Kingdom. The discussions revolved around establish a free trade area between only those two countries initially and then extending it to the rest of the Caribbean when the other countries in the Commonwealth Caribbean were ready to join.^[4]

These bilateral discussions between Barrow and Burnham were later expanded to include V. C. Bird of Antigua and the three leaders ultimately signed the initial CARIFTA Agreement (the Agreement of Dickenson Bay in Antigua) on December 15, 1965.^[3][5] The original date envisioned for the Caribbean Free Trade Area to come into existence, according to the Dickenson Bay Agreement, was May 15, 1967. However, as a result of shuttle diplomacy engaged by Dr. Eric Williams, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, (through one of his ministers, Kamaluddin Mohammed) this was postponed as in order to allow Trinidad and Tobago to be included in the agreement and to generally make the agreement region-wide from the beginning.^[5][4] Dr. Williams had for years been advocating the establishment of a Caribbean Economic Community and was now fearful that Barbados, Antigua and Guyana were planning to form a free trade area between themselves to the exclusion of Trinidad and Tobago.^[5] The push to make the free trade area a region-initiative was successful and the issue was discussed at the fourth Conference of the Heads of Government of Commonwealth Caribbean Countries in Bridgetown, Barbados in October 1967. There it was resolved to introduce the free trade area by May 1, 1968 with the delegations of Montserrat and British Honduras (Belize) entering reservations to the conclusions of the resolution due to the constitutional status of their governments at the time.^[6] As a result of this a supplementary agreement to the original Carifta Agreement was signed in Georgetown, Guyana on March 15, 1968, and in St John’s, Antigua on March 18, 1968, with Carifta Day set for May 1, 1968.^[5]

The new CARIFTA agreement came into effect on May 1, 1968, with the participation of Antigua, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. The original idea to permit all territories in the region to participate in the Association was achieved a few months later with the entry of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts/Nevis/Anguilla, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent in July and of Jamaica and Montserrat on August 1, 1968. British Honduras (Belize) became a member in May 1971 ^[7] following its government's agreement to become a member of the Association (and had promised to take the necessary steps to become so) in February 1969 at a Commonwealth Caribbean Heads of Government Conference in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.^[8]

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British Guiana

British Guiana

British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.

Errol Barrow

Errol Barrow

Errol Walton Barrow was a Barbadian statesman and the first prime minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy, he became a WWII aviator, combat veteran, lawyer, politician, gourmet cook and author. He is often referred to as the "Father of Independence" in Barbados.

Forbes Burnham

Forbes Burnham

Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Premier of British Guiana from 1964 to 1966, Prime Minister of Guyana from 1964 to 1980 and then as the first Executive President of Guyana from 1980 to 1985. He is often regarded as a strongman who embraced his own version of socialism.

Dickenson Bay

Dickenson Bay

Dickenson Bay is located on the northwestern coast in Antigua, close to the Cedar Grove.

Eric Williams

Eric Williams

Eric Eustace Williams was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation", having led the then British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, to independence on 31 August 1962, and republic status on 1 August 1976, leading an unbroken string of general elections victories with his political party, the People's National Movement, until his death in 1981. He was the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and also a noted Caribbean historian, especially for his book entitled Capitalism and Slavery.

Caribbean Community

Caribbean Community

The Caribbean Community is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states throughout the Americas and Atlantic Ocean. They have primary objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973, with its four founding members signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Its primary activities involve:Coordinating economic policies and development planning. Devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed countries within its jurisdiction. Operating as a regional single market for many of its members. Handling regional trade disputes.

The Caribbean Free Trade Association was created to improve relations between the various Caribbean islands. One of the reasons of the formation of the CARIFTA was to increase the quota and variety of goods able to be sold. Specifically, CARIFTA was intended to encourage balanced development of the Region by the following:

• increasing trade - buying and selling more goods among the Member States
• diversifying trade - expanding the variety of goods and services available for trade
• liberalising trade - removing tariffs and quotas on goods produced and traded within the area
• ensuring fair competition - setting up rules for all members to follow to protect the smaller enterprises

In addition to providing for free trade, the Agreement sought the following:

• ensure that the benefits of free trade were equitably distributed
• promote industrial development in the Less Developed Countries (LDCs)
• promote the development of the coconut industry (through an Oils and Fats Agreement) which was significant in many of the LDCs
• rationalise agricultural production but in the interim, facilitate the marketing of selected agricultural products of particular interest to the LDCs (through the Agricultural Marketing Protocol); and
• provide a longer period to phase out customs duty on certain products which were more important for the revenue of the LDCs^[3]

Although CARIFTA itself was limited to trade in goods, it freed approximately 90% of intra-regional trade in manufactured goods and instituted managed intra-regional trade in some agricultural products.^[9] Between 1968 and 1973 the absolute trade, diversity of traded goods and the significance of intra-CARIFTA trade relative to external markets all increased notably. Intra-CARIFTA imports rose from EC$95 million in 1968 to EC$300 million in 1973. Whilst foodstuff and petroleum products accounted for the bulk of this trade, a range of new manufactured items (particularly from Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago) began to be supplied for the first time. Diversification not only occurred in the types of goods sold but in the matrix of trade relationships with Jamaica's trade expanding away from the traditional markets of Belize and the northern Caribbean towards the southern and eastern Caribbean while Trinidad & Tobago's trade concurrently expanded from the traditional markets of Guyana and the Eastern Caribbean towards Jamaica, Belize and the northern Caribbean.^[10] Additionally the LDCs, particularly Saint Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent & the Grenadines benefitted from increase exports to the More Developed Countries (MDCs - Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago) of ground provisions (like sweet potatoes), copra and raw oils (such as coconut oil) under the Agricultural Marketing Protocol and the Oil and Fats Agreement (which was initially an Agreement among some regional states that pre-dated CARIFTA but was incorporated into CARIFTA as a Protocol and extended to all CARIFTA members in 1970) respectively.^[11][12]

Overall for CARIFTA members intra-CARIFTA trade went from accounting for around 6% of total domestic exports in 1967 to constituting 9% of domestic exports in 1970 (total domestic imports from intra-CARIFTA trade remained general stable at around 5%), even as the share trade with more traditional markets fluctuated and generally declined:

Broken down by the MDC and LDC designations, the MDC territories experienced 77% growth of intra-CARIFTA exports over four years^[11] (with Jamaica's export trade expanding the most, growing by 46% in exports and 24% in imports for the period 1967-1969)^[12] and the LDC territories saw 35% growth in intra-CARIFTA exports over the same period.^[11]

By the time CARIFTA was officially wound up in mid-1974 both intra-CARIFTA imports and exports had risen more than four-fold compared to 1966, with intra-CARIFTA imports increasing from EC$89 million to EC$473 million (433% increase) and intra-CARIFTA exports increasing from EC$82 million in 1966 to EC$455 million in 1974 (a 457% increase). The equivalent statistics for total trade with all partners by contrast showed a three-fold increase with imports increasing from EC$1.862 billion in 1966 to EC$7.141 billion in 1974 (a 284% increase) and exports increasing from EC$1.4 billion to EC$6.3 billion (a 350% increase) over the same period. This indicates that CARIFTA was successful in creating trade rather than merely diverting trade with the Free Trade Area.^[13]

In 1965, on December 15, the CARIFTA was founded by 3 countries:^[7]

•  Antigua and Barbuda (1965)
•  Barbados (1965)
•  Guyana (1965)

The following countries joined the agreement:^[7][3]

•  Trinidad and Tobago (May 1, 1968)
• Dominica (July 1, 1968)
• Grenada (July 1, 1968)
• Saint Kitts and Nevis (July 1, 1968)
• Saint Lucia (July 1, 1968)
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (July 1, 1968)
•  Jamaica (August 1, 1968)
•  Montserrat (August 1, 1968)
• British Honduras (Belize) (May 1, 1971)

In the 1970s, around the time CARIFTA was being transformed into CARICOM the following countries were granted Liaison Status/Observer Status in the Association:^[11][14]

•  Suriname (March 1973)
• Netherlands Antilles (July 1973)^[15]

Potential Members

The Bahamas

Although never a member of the Association itself, The Bahamas had begun involvement in the regional cooperation and integration initiative through participation in the Heads of Government Conferences of the Commonwealth Caribbean starting in 1966.^[16] This participation was quite active with The Bahamas' Premier, Lynden Pindling, sharing experiences and offering suggestions with regards to the establishment and operation of a regional air carrier at the 1969 Conference,^[8] and with The Bahamas (along with Belize which was not as yet a member of the Association) being invited to participate in the initial meeting (and in all future discussions) of the regional Ministers of Education in regards to the establishment of the Caribbean Examinations Council and the overall regional plan for cooperation in education at the 1970 Heads of Government Conference.^[17] The Bahamas was also quite involved in the transformation of CARIFTA into the Caribbean Community, with the 1972 Conference (at which it was agreed to form the Caribbean Community) appointing a Committee of Attorneys-General of all CARIFTA member states and the Bahamas to review the legal implications of establishing the Community itself and to prepare a draft Treaty for creating the Community. The 1972 Conference also agreed to deepen fiscal, financial and monetary cooperation within the Commonwealth Caribbean and to that end established a Standing Committee of Ministers of Finance of CARIFTA member states and The Bahamas as a permanent institution for regional economic cooperation.^[18] In April 1973, at the final meeting of the Commonwealth Caribbean Heads of Government before the establishment of the Caribbean Community, the Conference welcomed the upcoming independence of The Bahamas in July 1973 and looked forward to its participation in the Caribbean Community.^[19]

The Netherlands Antilles and Surinam

While initially envisaged as being potential members of a Caribbean Economic Community by Trinidad & Tobago's Prime Minister, Dr. Eric Williams, when he first enunciated such a vision in January 1962, the talks between Trinidad & Tobago and Surinam (as it was then called until 1978 when it officially changed its name to Suriname) and the Netherlands Antilles in March 1962 were not successful.^[20] These two Dutch Caribbean territories (at the time) were however also invited, prior to 1968, to become founding members of CARIFTA, but Surinam declined as it was uncertain as to the implications of joining and the Netherlands Antilles also declined out of caution against being the only non-Commonwealth member ^[21] Following CARIFTA's foundation however, Jamaica's Prime Minister, Hugh Shearer found on a tour of the Dutch Caribbean in August 1968, that the Minister-President of the Netherlands Antilles, Ciro Domenico Kroon and the Prime Minister of Suriname, Johan Adolf Pengel both expressed an interest in their respective territories joining CARIFTA in the future.^[22]

Haiti and the Dominican Republic

In January 1970, at the fifth meeting of the CARIFTA Council, Trinidad and Tobago proposed that the Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic be admitted as members of CARIFTA. This proposal was generally positively received. The inclusion of those states would have expanded CARIFTA's market by 8.5 million people and increased the subscribed capital of the Caribbean Development Bank (which had been linked with the formation and operation of CARIFTA) by approximately US$17 million.^[23] By 1971 however, Errol Barrow, Prime Minister of Barbados, saw no real advantage in including Haiti and the Dominican Republic (and Cuba) in CARIFTA unless a quota system was applied to their products as he considered their economies to be duplicate to those of the existing CARFITA states.^[21]

The Dominican Republic first signaled its intention to join a regional economic bloc at the a Summit of American leaders in Uruguay in April 1967 when it signed the Declaration of the Presidents of America. This Declaration outlined the aim for the creation of Latin American Common Market through the vehicles of the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) and Central American Common Market (CACM). Subsequently, the Dominican Republic looked into both LAFTA and the CACM, before pursuing discussions on joining CARIFTA in 1970.^[23][24] However the discussions did not result in Dominican membership before CARIFTA was ended in favour of forming CARICOM in 1973-1974.

Other States

At the 1972 Conference of Commonwealth Caribbean Heads of Government, consideration was given to widening CARIFTA but the immediate priority was agreed to be to improve the position of the less developed territories in the Association and to study the possibilities of including all the Caribbean islands and Suriname in the integration movement.^[18]

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Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the West Indies. It lies at the conjuncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17.060816°N latitude and -61.796429°W.

Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of 432 km2 (167 sq mi) and has a population of about 287,000. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.

Guyana

Guyana

Guyana, officially the Co‑operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east. With 215,000 km2 (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state by area in mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname, and is the second-least populous sovereign state in South America after Suriname; it is also one of the least densely populated countries on Earth. It has a wide variety of natural habitats and a very high biodiversity.

Dominica

Dominica

Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically situated as part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. Dominica's closest neighbours are two constituent territories of the European Union, the overseas departments of France, Guadeloupe to the northwest and Martinique to the south-southeast. Dominica comprises a land area of 750 km2 (290 sq mi), and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 m (4,747 ft) in elevation. The population was 71,293 at the 2011 census.

Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and several small islands which lie to the north of the main island and are a part of the Grenadines. It is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 348.5 square kilometres (134.6 sq mi), and it had an estimated population of 124,523 in July 2021. Its capital is St. George's. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops.

Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third largest island — after Cuba and Hispaniola — of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 km (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 km (119 mi) west of Hispaniola ; the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands lies some 215 km (134 mi) to the north-west.

Montserrat

Montserrat

Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about 16 km (10 mi) long and 11 km (7 mi) wide, with roughly 40 km (25 mi) of coastline. It is nicknamed "The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean" both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of many of its inhabitants. Montserrat is the only non-fully sovereign full member of the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.

Belize

Belize

Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a water boundary with Honduras to the southeast. It has an area of 22,970 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) and a population of 441,471 (2022). Its mainland is about 290 km (180 mi) long and 110 km (68 mi) wide. It is the least populated and least densely populated country in Central America. Its population growth rate of 1.87% per year is the second-highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Its capital is Belmopan, and its largest city is the namesake city of Belize City. Belize is often thought of as a Caribbean country in Central America because it has a history similar to that of English-speaking Caribbean nations. Belize's institutions and official language reflect its history as a British colony.

Caribbean Examinations Council

Caribbean Examinations Council

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is an examination board in the Caribbean. It was established in 1972 under agreement by the participating governments in the Caribbean Community to conduct such examinations as it may think appropriate and award certificates and diplomas on the results of any such examinations so conducted. The council is empowered to regulate the conduct of any such examinations and prescribe the qualification requirements of candidates and the fees payable by them. It is now an examining body that provides educational certifications in 16 English speaking Commonwealth Caribbean Countries and Territories and has replaced the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations used by England and some other members of the Commonwealth. The CXC is an institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); it was recognised as an Associate Institution of the Community in the 1973 treaty that created the Caribbean Community. Members of the council are drawn from the 16 territories and the region's two universities, the University of Guyana and the University of the West Indies.

Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations among member states. Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth.

Hugh Shearer

Hugh Shearer

Hugh Lawson Shearer was a Jamaican trade unionist and politician, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1967 to 1972.

Johan Adolf Pengel

Johan Adolf Pengel

Johan Adolf "Jopie" Pengel was a Surinamese politician, and prime minister of Suriname from 30 June 1963 to 5 March 1969 for the National Party of Suriname (NPS).

While the original 1965 CARIFTA Agreement was mostly modelled on the 1960 European Free Trade Association Agreement, and the subsequent 1967 Agreement was suitably modified to reflect membership encompassing most of the Commonwealth Caribbean,^[25] the Association itself was governed more like the European Economic Community (EEC) with a mix of formal institutions set up by the Agreement and informal institutions outside the scope of the Agreement although like EFTA, the formal institutions prescribed in the CARIFTA Agreement were simple and flexible.^[25]

Heads of Government Conference

Similarly to the European Council the regional Heads of Government Conference started off as an informal summit of leaders and later as an independent, formal summit of leaders that was still informal with regards to the regional integration organization over which it had some amount of direction.^[12] Unlike the European Council with regards to the EEC however, the regional Heads of Government Conference pre-dates CARIFTA (and then CARICOM), having first convened in 1963 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. Having expanded its membership from just the independent Commonwealth Caribbean states in 1963 to including all of the non-independent territories in 1967, it was the Heads of Government Conference at its fourth sitting in October 1967 in Bridgetown, Barbados^[12] that modified the Dickenson Bay Agreement so as to ensure the broadest possible membership, set 1 May 1968 as day CARIFTA was supposed to become operation and set forth a Resolution on Regional Integration which was incorporated as an integral part of the CARIFTA Agreement as Annex A.^[25]

In regards to the CARIFTA and the wider regional integration movement, the Heads of Government Conference was the ultimate body which gave direction to the regional integration, established committees and working parties to examine certain issues pertaining to regional integration, approved the budget of the Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Secretariat, and informally was needed to expressly approve any new major initiatives of the formal CARIFTA institutions.^[12]

The Heads of Government Conference would be formalized as an Organ of CARIFTA's successor organization, CARICOM, with the Original Treaty of Chaguaramas of July 1973.

Council

The CARIFTA Council is analogous to the EFTA Council of Ministers, and was set up under Article 28 of the CARIFTA Agreement with each member territory being represented on the Council and having one vote. Council decisions and recommendations were made by unanimous vote, except where the Agreement provides otherwise, in which case it could act by a majority vote consisting of two-thirds of the member territories.^[12][25]

Besides administering the CARIFTA Agreement, the Council was also empowered to settle disputes arising from the CARIFTA Agreement (whether between member territories for originating from within a member territory) and thus it also acted as tribunal when necessary. In that way it could authorize any member territory to take interim safe-guard measures and suspend its obligations towards another member territory if the second member territory was determined by the Council not to be fulfilling its obligations stemming from the CARIFTA Agreement.^[12][25]

Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Secretariat

The Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Secretariat was the principal administrative organ of the Association, being established under Article 28 (3) of the Agreement, and it could be entrusted by the Council with such functions or delegated authority as the Council considered necessary to assist it in accomplishing its tasks. The role of the Secretariat was to service both the Heads of Government Conference and the Council, ensuring implementation of resolutions and decisions and to make studies concerning trade expansion or as assigned to it by the Conference or the Council and make recommendations on matters within its competence.^[12][25]

The Secretariat itself was divided into two Divisions. The first was the Trade and Integration Division which supervised the workings of the CARIFTA Agreement including collecting, collating and analyzing regional statistics and economic data as well as improving customs procedures and training customs personnel. The second was the General Services and Administrative Division which held responsibility for the general administration of the Secretariat and the non-economic aspects of regional integration such as education, health, meteorology, shipping and so on.^[12]

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European Free Trade Association

European Free Trade Association

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European Single Market and are part of the Schengen Area. They are not, however, party to the European Union Customs Union.

European Economic Community

European Economic Community

The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subsequently renamed the European Community (EC) upon becoming integrated into the first pillar of the newly formed European Union in 1993. In the popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes inaccurately used in the wider sense of the plural European Communities, in spite of the latter designation covering all the three constituent entities of the first pillar.

European Council

European Council

The European Council is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. The European Council is part of the executive of the European Union (EU), beside the European Commission. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the European Council, and the President of the European Commission. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in its meetings.

Treaty of Chaguaramas

Treaty of Chaguaramas

The Treaty of Chaguaramas established the Caribbean Community and Common Market, popularly known as CARICOM. It was signed on 4 July 1973 in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago. It was signed by Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. It came into effect on 1 August 1973. The treaty established the regional institution while replacing the Caribbean Free Trade Association which ceased to exist on 1 May 1974. The revised treaty, signed in 2001, created the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.

Secretariat of the Caribbean Community

Secretariat of the Caribbean Community

The Secretariat of the Caribbean Community is the principal administrative organ for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and is headed by the secretary general, who is the chief executive officer of the community.

In 1973, CARIFTA became superseded by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) following a decision, at the Seventh Heads of Government Conference in October 1972, to transform CARIFTA into a Common Market and establish the Caribbean Community of which the Common Market would be an integral part.^[7] At the Eighth Heads of Government Conference in April 1973, the Georgetown Accord was adopted, which set out the details of how CARIFTA was to be replaced by CARICOM.^[26] The Treaty of Chaguaramas declared that CARIFTA would cease to exist on 1 May 1974 when the remaining CARIFTA members all acceded to CARICOM. In fact, there was essentially a transitional period between 1 August 1973 when the More Developed Countries (MDCs) of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago acceded to CARICOM and 26 July 1974 when Saint Kitts & Nevis acceded to CARICOM, during which both CARIFTA and CARICOM were legally in existence and operative and thus CARIFTA wasn't fully superseded until 26 July 1974.^[27] In conjunction with their accession to CARICOM, the various CARIFTA states gave notices of withdrawal from CARIFTA which brought about the legal termination of CARIFTA's provisions within their jurisdictions and ultimately the complete legal dissolution of CARIFTA itself.^[28] Thus the dates of withdrawal from CARIFTA are as follows:

• 30 April 1974 - Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago
• October 1974 - Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
• January 1975 - Montserrat^[29][27]
• July 1975 - Antigua & Barbuda^[27]

The regional co-operation under the CARIFTA agreement also led to the foundation of several common institutions. The Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Secretariat was set up in Georgetown (Guyana) and the Caribbean Development Bank was established in Bridgetown, Barbados.^[30]

One of the legacies of CARIFTA is an international youth athletics event for junior athletes from the member states started in 1972 by the association and inaugurated (and thought up) by Austin Sealy (then president of the Amateur Athletic Association of Barbados) to mark the transition from CARIFTA to CARICOM called the CARIFTA Games. In 1985, a similar set of games, The CARIFTA Aquatics Championships, started.

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Caribbean Community

Caribbean Community

The Caribbean Community is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states throughout the Americas and Atlantic Ocean. They have primary objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973, with its four founding members signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Its primary activities involve:Coordinating economic policies and development planning. Devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed countries within its jurisdiction. Operating as a regional single market for many of its members. Handling regional trade disputes.

Treaty of Chaguaramas

Treaty of Chaguaramas

The Treaty of Chaguaramas established the Caribbean Community and Common Market, popularly known as CARICOM. It was signed on 4 July 1973 in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago. It was signed by Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. It came into effect on 1 August 1973. The treaty established the regional institution while replacing the Caribbean Free Trade Association which ceased to exist on 1 May 1974. The revised treaty, signed in 2001, created the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.

Secretariat of the Caribbean Community

Secretariat of the Caribbean Community

The Secretariat of the Caribbean Community is the principal administrative organ for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and is headed by the secretary general, who is the chief executive officer of the community.

CARIFTA Games

CARIFTA Games

The CARIFTA Games is an annual athletics competition founded by the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA). The games was first held in 1972 and consists of track and field events including sprint races, hurdles, middle distance track events, jumping and throwing events, and relays. The Games has two age categories: under-17 and under-20. Only countries associated with CARIFTA may compete in the competition.