Caribbean & Central America - September 2025

“We must decisively open the door to greater trade between our regions” said Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretary-General Carla Barnett while attending the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Grenada at the end of July.

Despite powerful historic and cultural links, Africa and the Caribbean do little together in the way of trade and investment. The share of bilateral out of total exports has never surpassed 6% for either region according to a study by Pan-African multilateral financial institution Afreximbank and the International Trade Centre, the joint agency of the United Nations (UN) and World Trade Organization (WTO).

According to the same study, African exports to the Caribbean declined since 2014 and have hovered around 0.1% of the total since 2020. Caribbean exports to Africa have been volatile jumping from 0.8% of the total in 2020 to 2.3% in 2022. This comes as the Caribbean, with its smaller and import-dependent island economies, is particularly vulnerable to uncertain global trade: US President Donald Trump has slapped a 10% tariff on all Caribbean’s exports. The US takes around 40% of total Caribbean exports.

That said, Caricom sees an opportunity for diversification and improvement. According to the same study, it is feasible to target a near-tripling of bilateral trade over the next five years, from US$729m to US$2.1bn. This could be achieved by slashing trade barriers (Caribbean rum, for example, faces an 88% tariff in African markers) and investing in higher-value products such as minerals and metals, processed food, manufactures, travel and transport, and creative industries.

In Grenada, Barnett argued that stronger bilateral trade would be beneficial for the Caribbean countries, reducing reliance on the US and Europe. Caricom had already cooperated with African countries to seek slavery reparations from former colonial powers and compensation from climate change effects. The Grenada forum reportedly attracted 1,700 delegates while at its sessions, over US$290m worth of business and cooperation deals were signed.