Caribbean

EU trade relations with Caribbean countries. Facts, figures and latest developments.

• African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP)
• Caribbean

• Economic Partnerships
• Trade policy

In the Caribbean, the EU has a preferential trade agreement in place with 14 Member States of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) since October 2008. The CARIFORUM is a subgroup of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), which comprises 14 Caribbean Community states and the Dominican Republic.

The countries covered by this Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) are: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic.

Haiti signed the agreement in December 2009, but is not applying it, pending its ratification. Haiti currently benefits from duty-free and quota-free market access to the EU under the Everything but Arms (EBA) scheme.

Trade picture

• In 2023, the EU was the CARIFORUM's second-largest trading partner, after the United States.
• The main exports from CARIFORUM countries to the EU are crude oils and liquified natural gas, chemicals (particularly methanol, and fertilisers), medical instruments, and traditional products like bananas, rum, cocoa and tobacco.
• The main imports into the CARIFORUM region from the EU are machinery and appliances, boats, ships, vehicles, potatoes, milk and cream, pharmaceuticals, and spirit drinks.
• The Dominican Republic is a key trade partner under the EU-CARIFORUM EPA and has become an exporter of organic produce to the EU.

The EU and the Caribbean

The EU-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is a free trade agreement (FTA) which opens up trade in goods, as well as in services, and boosts investment between the two regions by:

• ensuring duty- free and quota-free market access into the EU for all CARIFORUM products and providing predictable EU market access to these countries;
• gradually liberalising EU exports to CARIFORUM for 87% of products over a period of 25 years, and permanently excluding exports of the most sensitive goods from the perspective of CARIFORUM producers;
• gradually opening the EU services market, including in the creative and entertainment industries;
• making it possible for CARIFORUM companies to set up a commercial presence in the EU;
• including regulatory provisions on the transparency of public procurement and competition, on intellectual property rights, and on customs cooperation; as well as including chapters on social and environmental sustainability, and on customs cooperation, and;
• making it easier to do business in the Caribbean through rules that ensure fair competition and that incentivise market reforms.

The EU-CARIFORUM EPA includes a development component to contribute to:

• the implementation of the EPA by CARIFORUM governments, as well as the preparation of market reforms;
• fostering regional integration;
• informing Caribbean exporters on EU requirements, and supporting innovation; and
• attracting EU foreign investment to the region.

Development cooperation support is provided in the areas of export capacity building and administrative capacity building, technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), investment and trade facilitation, services provision, agricultural production, innovation, technology transfer, and intellectual property.

The EPA fosters regional cooperation and integration between CARIFORUM member states and eleven Caribbean territories with direct links to EU countries, namely four French 'outermost regions' (French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint Martin) and seven overseas territories, including six Dutch ones (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) and one French one (Saint-Barthélemy).

The EPA facilitates regional trade by:

• Establishing regional trade preferences for goods and services (regional clauses).
• Allowing cumulation of origin for products originating in CARIFORUM countries, African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, and other EU trade partners.
• Promoting regulatory cooperation and integration between CARIFORUM countries and EU Overseas Territories in the Caribbean (OCTs).

The EU-CARIFORUM EPA entered into provisional application in December 2008. Reviews of the agreement take place every five years.

Independent ex-post evaluations on the implementation and impact of the EPA were conducted in 2014 and in 2021.

Committees and Dialogues

The EU and CARIFORUM countries meet regularly to discuss issues and best practices and oversee the proper functioning of the agreement.

Trading with the Caribbean

• Importing into the EU from CARIFORUM countries
• EU trade defence measures on imports from CARIFORUM countries
• Exporting from the EU to CARIFORUM countries
• Trade defence measures in force in the Caribbean
• Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with CARICOM-CARIFORUM and the EU-LAC Agenda.
• EU-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement: Creating opportunities for EU and Caribbean businesses (factsheet)
• Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA): a region-wide agency supporting Caribbean exporters co-financed by the EU
• Aid for trade: The EU helps Caribbean countries to trade
• Economic resilience and trade is a key priority under the Multi-annual Regional indicative programme for the Caribbean 2021-2027.
• See how the Economic Partnership Agreement is benefiting exporters in CARIFORUM countries
• The Agrinfo website provides Caribbean exporters with the latest information on evolving EU policies, regulations and standards with potential impacts on agri-food exports and value chains.

Investing in the Caribbean

• The EU investment agenda with the Caribbean region is part of the Global Gateway initiative.
• The Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (CAIPA) is a key partner promoting investment in CARIFORUM member states. Its website includes links to the 15 CARIFORUM countries' investment promotion agencies.
• The Caribbean Investment Forum is organised annually by CEDA, engaging local businesses as well as international and EU companies interested in investment opportunities in the Caribbean.

Sectoral trade and investment opportunities in CARIFORUM member states were identified under a dedicated EU-financed project carried out in 2023-2024:

• Renewable Energies (brochure and report)
• Sustainable Tourism (brochure and report)
• Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Processing (brochure and report)
• Infrastructure and Utilities (brochure and report)
• Maritime Services, Ports and Logistics (brochure and report)
• Information and Communication Technologies (brochure and report)