Trade Potentials of Small Caribbean States with the European Union : A Gravity Modeling Analysis for the Case of CARICOM Countries

The Caribbean integration process started in the 1960s with the CARIFTA Agreement, then evolving to what is today known as CARICOM, including fifteen Caribbean countries. The original impetus was based on traditional customs union theory and the gains from trade, and its articulated goals, according to the official documents of the Secretariat, were to overcome the condition of underdevelopment as represented by economic weakness, underemployment, agricultural backwardness and dependence through national and regional policies aimed at promoting social and economic development. Increased trade can contribute to achieve the aforementioned goals. This monograph describes the theoretical literature on the gains from trade, in particular on a particular arrangement of international trade: Preferential Trade Agreements. It then uses a gravity modeling approach to explain the trade patterns of CARICOM economies, and estimates the international trade trade potential that CARICOM economies face with the European Union.