• At the Seventh Heads of Government Conference, Commonwealth Caribbean leaders decide to transform the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) into a Common Market and establish the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
  • The Chaguaramas Treaty, which established the Caribbean Community, is signed.
  • Heads of Government decide to transform the Common Market into a single market and economy in which factors move freely; thus to revise the existing Treaty.
  • An Intergovernmental Task Force is established to work on the revision of the Treaty.
  • CARICOM and Venezuela sign a one-way preferential trade agreement.
  • CARICOM and The Republic of Colombia sign a trade, economic and technical cooperation agreement.
  • CARICOM and Dominican Republic sign a free trade agreement.
  • CARICOM signs a Partial Scope Agreement with Cuba.
  • The heads of government sign a Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
  • Canada and CARICOM announce their intention to initiate discussions towards a possible Canada-CARICOM free trade agreement.
  • After three rounds of negotiation, CARICOM and Costa Rica sign a free trade agreement in Jamaica.
  • 13 of the 15 CARICOM countries sign the Petrocaribe, an oil alliance with Venezuela which permits them to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment.
  • CARICOM and MERCOSUR member states (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) meet and express their intentions to sign a free trade agreement.
  • CARICOM and Central American Integration System (SICA) hold a Preparatory Meeting regarding a free trade agreement.
  • CARICOM and Canada launch negotiations for a free trade agreement.
  • The U.S. extends the life of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) by 10 years through 2020 which helps secure access for Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
  • The Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network (CKLN), an intergovernmental agency of CARICOM, secures a grant of 10 million euros from the European Union to develop a broadband fiber optic network which allows Caribbean citizens to upgrade and diversify their skills and knowledge through the increase of collaboration and connectivity throughout the region.

Sources

CARICOM Office of Trade Negotiations

Official CARICOM Website

Organization of American States: Foreign Trade Information System