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The OECS Free Circulation of Goods and the Road to Deeper Integration: Both Priorities at the 7th OECS Assembly Sitting
SOURCE: PRESSROOM- The 7th Sitting of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Assembly was a notable occasion marking several firsts.
The Sitting took place at the New Temporary Parliament Building in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on June 17, 2025.
The OECS Assembly is a regional parliament consisting of representative parliamentarians from all OECS Member States, both government and opposition.
This marked the first time that the OECS Assembly was held outside of its headquarters in Antigua and Barbuda, for a one-time sitting in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Sitting began with members electing the Honourable Rene M. Baptiste of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Honourable Samantha Marshall of Antigua and Barbuda as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the OECS Assembly, respectively.
The two newly elected officers were congratulated and commended for their contributions to the integration of the region.
Under the theme Strengthening Regional Unity in a Shifting Global Order, the OECS Free Circulation of Goods Bills were debated.
These Bills represent represent a major step forward towards operationalising the OECS customs union, which is provided for in the Protocol of Eastern Caribbean Economic Union, as articulated in the Revised Treaty of Basseterre of 2010. The Free Circulation of Goods Bills include:
- The OECS Animal Health Bill
- The OECS Plant Protection Bill
- The OECS Food Safety Bill
- The OECS Standards Bill
- The OECS Customs Control and Management Bill
Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, the outgoing Chairman of the OECS Authority, opened the proceedings, highlighting the importance of the OECS’s tight-knit integration and the elements crucial for its survival.
He said, “If our countries are not only to survive but to prosper and to do so in spite of the challenges we are faced today and those we will inevitably confront in time, we must be realistic, innovative, nimble, perhaps even stoic taking into account that the world does not cater to those who are insufficiently endowed to pay the piper…It is my sincere opinion and my expectation that we will attach the warranted urgency to this exercise, ensuring that presently the Free Circulation of Goods Regime is able to function, and we bridge the existing divide between the full and unhindered movement of people and goods in the single space.”
Supporting Prime Minister Pierre’s call to action on the urgent circumstances, Prime Minister Ralph Goslaves of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and incoming Chairman of the OECS Authority delivered remarks against the backdrop of his decades-long experience with the OECS integration project.
He said, “Unless we deepen this regional integration movement for precisely the same reasons as elucidated by the Honourable Prime Minister of Saint Lucia this morning about the complicated and contradictory and dangerous condition of the world for small island states—if we do not always keep this matter in our forefront of deepening and strengthening our beloved OECS—we’re likely to falther, and our individual sovereignties may make us feel emotionally satisfied, but we will be found wanting.”
Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, questioned members present about whether they were prepared to take the necessary steps nationally to ensure that the OECS Assembly is given the teeth to truly perform the mandate envisioned for it in the Treaty.
“I do not believe, Madam Speaker in coming to debates to talk about things for talking sake, we have to act. When Members of Parliament meet, it is not a tea party we’re having. We come here to discuss serious matters affecting the lives of our citizens and at the end of the day the decisions are taken and so for that to get to that point we have to do what we have to do; prerequisites have to be put in place.
The 7th Sitting of the OECS Assembly and the Bills debated were significant strides forward for the OECS, especially in the current environment of global trade and its unpredictable fluctuations. Honourable Rene M. Baptiste posed an introductory question to the Sitting’s guest speaker and Director General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, “The multilateral trading system is grappling with a plethora of many challenges. Very small island states like those of the OECS rely more than others on the predictability, stability and security provided by rules-based multilateralism. So what are the WTO members doing to address these challenges, and how do you, Madame Director General, suggest that small states like ours can best possibly promote our interests?”
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala responded,
“One of the things that WTO members can do is come together to say we will continue to respect the system, we will continue to do our trade on most favoured nation terms so as to strengthen the system. As you said, small island economies can be very vulnerable, and they need the stability and predictability of the system. So, making your voices heard on the importance of that stability and predictability is very important. I also want to commend your Ambassador Colin Murdoch and his deputy, Joel Richards, for the strong way in which they have raised your voices in a very positive manner already at the WTO, supporting the multilateral trading system.”
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also referenced concerns that other WTO members have voiced, including the United States of America and China,
“All these are criticisms members have and if these criticisms are the reasons why the US decided to take unilateral action, well maybe we should turn this very uncomfortable situation into an opportunity to say what action can we take as members in order to reform the organisation and make it fit for purpose and fit for the 21st century.”
This discussion set the tone for the depth to which the OECS Assembly considered the Bills which were tabled. Several members called for more action within the OECS, more attention to matters of collaboration and integration for the sake of resilience in trade and for the benefit of member states’ economies.
Apart from the focus on trade, other specific areas mentioned included energy, education and healthcare. and they emphasised the original values of integration found in the Revised Treaty of Basseterre.
The members agreed to present the Bills to their national parliaments at the relevant time. They also agreed on allowing more time for debates in the Assembly.
“This is the first time in the Assembly’s history that we are debating and deliberating on Bills. In the past, we have done Motions, and Motions are easy, but in advancing Bills here, it is another step in the maturity of this Assembly…I think that we must nonetheless recognise the advance that was inherent in us putting Bills on the table for us to discuss something with some legislative heft.”
The 7th Sitting of the OECS Assembly was supported by OECS Regional Integration Through Growth Harmonisation and Technology (RIGHT) Programme (funded by the 11th European Development Fund).
This programme is implementing key components for integration, including support for a regional business council, and strengthening border management systems and the consumer protection environment.
After the debate, the members unanimously agreed that the Bills should be presented to the OECS Authority with recommendations and adjustments.
The OECS Contingent Rights Bill was also on the agenda, but not debated and instead agreed to be sent on to the OECS Authority for consideration.
Once approved at the OECS level, the Bills will be submitted to the Protocol Member States for consideration within their respective national legislative frameworks and for further dialogue to establish enactment timelines.
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Big up Antigua and Barbuda—for keeping Caribbean unity at the forefront!
More hungry belly people to thief our patrimony.
From Antigua to Grenada, Barbados to St. Lucia—OECS is our common future.
Way forward: stay united, support regional institutions and share resources.
Integration mean open borders for trade, travel and education—yes please!
Joining hands with OECS is smart
Integration or trending to wherever the grass is greener? What are the mechanisms to facilitate skill sets with the requisite training across the various states, for retention and promotion of skills within each domain? Is this exercise a conduit to siphoning of acquired skill sets; thus implementing a corridor for the inevitable brain draining lowered for the highest compensation? Surely this is a noble embankment befitting of a monolithic mindset devoid of plurality: but we are segmented; not only by borders, but also by cultural norms which sets us apart, and remain entrenched even with assimilation. To my way thinking: it would be better to aspire to the more holistic venture of a Federated Caribbean Republic State, with each endeavorring all achieving. Thus stated. Nothing beats a trial, but a failure. As time will tell; when boldness is equated with the vision, of thinking outside the neatly boxed-in conservative Colonial manifested mantra; of which we tend to postulate.