Business View Caribbean, July/August 2018

22 23 OPENING LINES implement, free movement of goods, people, services, capital, and technology. It is the only way in which our region will overcome the low level of both intra-industry and intra-regional trade,”he pointed out. He said the realization of the CSME would be good for all of CARICOM, as long as provisions were made within it for balance in everyone’s interest.He pledged his support to Barbados Prime Minister,Mia Mottley in working on the issue. Speaking to other challenges the region’s economies faced, Browne said the negative effects of de-risking and the withdrawal of cor- respondent banking relations were well-known. He also noted the frightening prospect that, if these movements continued, CARICOM coun- tries could be cut-off from the world’s financial and trading system.He said that if this were to happen, the consequences would be nothing short of disastrous. He implored his colleague heads of govern- ment not to allowwhat he referred to as the unilaterally devised and universally imposed doctrines of the OECD and FATF to be elevated above the welfare of the region’s people. In closing, Browne reiterated the urgency for regional unity.According to him, it was needed nowmore than ever,with deeper commitment and greater strength.“The task of overcoming our vulnerabilities; of growing our economies despite the odds; of giving our people their rightful share of the world’s bounty will only be possible if we enlarge our strengths by combin- ing them.We should not now dither or defer,”he said.