We are excited to share with you our SRC Policy Document entitled “Trading Our Way to Recovery During COVID-19: Recommendations for CARICOM Countries” which is available here.

The Policy Document was written by the SRC Research Team comprising, Chelcee Brathwaite, Alicia Nicholls and Jan Yves Remy and was peer-reviewed by a number of subject-matter experts in the topics covered by the Document. 

The SRC Policy Document provides a comprehensive review of the region’s economic shortcomings exposed by COVID-19 and the role that trade policy can and should play in its economic recovery.  

After providing an overview of CARICOM’s economic, investment and trade profiles (Chapter 1), the Policy Document looks at five main sectors that we deem critical for the region’s sustainable development. Each Chapter looks at the sector pre-COVID-19, summarizes the impact the pandemic has had on it, and then provides SRC Recommendations on how trade policy can provide solutions and answers to overcome the shortcomings exposed. 

Specifically, the Chapters are are organized as follows:

1. Chapter 2: Innovation & Industrial Policy: Against the backdrop of ‘hyper-globalization’, free trade and the fourth industrial revolution, rethinking industrial policy is imperative. How then can the region adopt an innovative posture in its approach towards industrial policy?
2. Chapter 3: Agricultural Development & Food Security: Can the region mobilize the Community Agricultural Policy outlined in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas in order to transform its agricultural sector, improve the state of food security and reduce the vulnerability level caused by excessive external dependence?
3. Chapter 4: E-Commerce:  With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing us to embrace e-commerce and the wider digital economy, how can the region better position itself to reap the benefits from this virtual transition?
4. Chapter 5: MSME Development & Export Activity:  Across CARICOM, micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) constitute the majority of businesses and contribute significantly to regional employment. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic MSMEs have been severely impacted. We offer an export-oriented roadmap for revitalising the region’s MSMEs. 
5. Chapter 6: Investment Facilitation: Caribbean countries will require foreign capital to assist in their economic recovery efforts. How then can the region promote and facilitate sustainable investment going forward to aid its recovery?  

We will be releasing individual Chapters in the coming weeks as SRC Policy Briefs.