Why the need for the CRNM?
In the mid 1980’s it became clear to the leaders of Caribbean Governments that external trade negotiations were going to be extremely important in helping the region adjust to the challenges of the changing international environment. It was also apparent that these negotiations were essential to enabling the Caribbean to take advantage of development opportunities in areas where the Caribbean may have potential competitive edge. Given the Region’s limited human and financial resources, external negotiations had to be approached in a coordinated, managed and systematic way to avoid use of these resources in an inefficient an ineffective manner. It was considered necessary to create a separate organization whose dedicated task would be to manage the negotiation process under direction of the Regional Governments.

The Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), in recognition of these challenges, formally established the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) in April 1997 to develop, coordinate and execute an overall negotiating strategy for various external negotiations in which the Region was involved. The CRNM also represents the trade interests of the Dominican Republic and Cuba in specific negotiating arenas. CARICOM Member States (i.e.; Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago) along with Cuba and the Dominican Republic are collectively known as CARIFORUM, which is an acronym for the Caribbean Forum of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). The ACP was established to coordinate cooperation between its members and the European Union through the negotiation and implementation of cooperation agreements with the European Community as a group.

Mandate
The CRNM is responsible for developing and maintaining a cohesive and effective framework for the coordination and management of the Caribbean’s external trade negotiation resources and expertise. Our mission is to help Member States maximize the benefits of participating in global trade negotiations by:

1. Providing sound advice;
2. Facilitating the generation of national positions;
3. Coordinating the formulation of a cohesive negotiating strategy; and
4. Leading negotiations where appropriate.

The Negotiations in Focus

The CRNM engages in negotiations on four general levels:

1. Multilateral Level – This includes negotiations within the World Trade Organization (WTO);
2. Inter-regional Level – This included the negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union;
3. The Hemispheric Level – This includes the negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). These negotiations are now dormant; and
4. Bilateral Level – This includes negotiating agreements between CARICOM and other countries such as Canada and the Dominican Republic. Structure and Functioning of the CRNM Stakeholders

At all levels of negotiations, Trade and Foreign Ministers, their professional staff in Member State capitals, and their Representatives in centres such as Brussels and Geneva, have played, and continue to play essential roles in the negotiating process. The CRNM is involved intimately in integrating these efforts in order to arrive at common regional negotiating positions.

The CRNM management team is comprised of: the Director-General, a Senior Director with overarching responsibility for technical work of the organization, a Director of Technical Cooperation, Partnerships and Information responsible for relations with the donor community and overall management of grant agreements; a Deputy Senior Director for technical work; and a Director of Finance and Administration responsible for budget finance and administration matters.

The technical team comprises Caribbean nationals who are experts in various issues which are the subject of the negotiations. Within the CRNM, the mechanisms for internal consultation to ensure, inter alia, coherence across the negotiating positions in several negotiating disciplines is the College of Negotiators. This College comprises Lead and Alternate Lead negotiators for each of the negotiating arenas, who actually undertake the negotiations, under the overall coordination of the Dean of the College. The College meets periodically, and independently of the negotiations, to review developments in the different negotiating arenas, and to discuss future strategies. Some of the CRNM’s technical staff serve alongside regional experts either as Lead negotiators, or as Alternate Lead negotiators within the College.

The CRNM is further supported by distinguished expert Associates and Advisors. The Associates are Sir Alister McIntyre, Ambassador Havelock Brewster, Professor Bishnodat Persaud and Professor Norman Girvan. The Advisors are Professor Andrew Downes, Professor Anthony Clayton, Dr. Robert Devlin and Dr. Deryck Brown.

The governance structure established by the Heads provides for the CRNM to report to the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) which gives the CRNM guidance, and defines its negotiating mandate. The Director-General is also directly responsible to the Caribbean Heads of Government through the CARICOM Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on External Negotiations.

The CRNM has a finance committee which comprises representatives of some Member States, a representative of the CARICOM Secretariat, and the CRNM Senior Management Team.

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