Prime Minister Gaston Browne says efforts to develop a unified Caribbean response to the United States’ proposal to transfer third-country nationals were undermined after at least one regional leader independently signed an agreement with Washington, leaving the wider region in a weaker negotiating position.
Wrapping up debate Tuesday on a parliamentary resolution governing Antigua and Barbuda’s negotiations with the United States, Browne said he agreed with Barbuda MP Trevor Walker that greater regional collaboration would have strengthened the Caribbean’s hand.
“The member is right,” Browne said. “We tried to get a consensus early and broadly within the OECS and CARICOM.”
According to Browne, those efforts faltered when one prime minister entered into an agreement before a common regional position could be reached.
“While we were discussing possible areas for collaboration, one prime minister who sat among us had already signed,” he said, declining to identify the country or leader involved.
The prime minister said the lack of coordination exposed a recurring weakness within both the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), where individual countries often pursue separate arrangements with larger international partners.
“It is one of the unfortunate situations within the OECS and within CARICOM in general in which there is absolutely no such collaboration,” Browne said. “We allow foreign interests to pick us off, make us feel independently important and then leave the entire CARICOM family vulnerable.”
He warned that governments which believe they have secured favorable treatment by acting independently could eventually face similar pressures.
“You may think that you’re well secured today, but ultimately we are as strong as our weakest link,” Browne said.
The prime minister argued that when Caribbean countries fail to stand together, they weaken the region’s collective bargaining power and make it easier for external partners to negotiate separately with individual states.
His comments came as Parliament debated and later approved a resolution establishing the principles that will govern Antigua and Barbuda’s ongoing negotiations with the United States over the possible transfer of third-country nationals.
Despite criticizing the lack of regional unity, Browne said Antigua and Barbuda would continue engaging the United States while defending its own national interests and adhering to the safeguards approved by Parliament.
He said the government remains committed to negotiating within a framework that preserves the country’s sovereignty, protects national security and ensures no arrangement can proceed without Antigua and Barbuda’s consent.
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: PM Browne Says Lack of Regional Unity Weakened Caribbean Position in US Talks.