True friend of the Caribbean
by Tony Best
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, once defined friends as “one soul two bodies”. While that definition may be too extravagant to explain the relationship today between Congressman Charles Rangel of New York and Caribbean nations, it comes closest to fitting the bill. Rangel is one of the best friends the Caribbean has had on Capitol Hill in the past quarter of a century. He has stood up for the region when other members of the House of Representatives from New York, Atlanta and elsewhere in the country found it convenient to sell the Caribbean down the river or to play hide-and-seek. Whether it is on trade, aid, or broad United States foreign policy in the region, Rangel has shown he is someone on whom the Caribbean can rely. The latest example of that came recently when he urged the Congress to do something to help the Caribbean. The “something” was passage of a trade bill that would open up the vast United States market to more goods from the Caribbean by giving the small states in Central America and the Caribbean North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) parity with Mexico. NAFTA [please note: link provided by LOSP web site] parity is vital to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic – countries which have suffered the most from the trade concessions given to Mexico under NAFTA. The trade pact made it far more attractive to manufacturers to set up shop in Mexico than keep operations in states which benefit from the Caribbean Basin Initiative. It is estimated that NAFTA cost Jamaica and the Dominican Republic a loss of over 100 000 jobs. Rangel explained it succinctly when he told his Congressional colleagues: “Unfortunately, by expanding liberal trade in our continent, we have caused many people in the Caribbean to suffer substantial economic setbacks as we found them adversely affected by the preferential treatment that Mexico received under the NAFTA.” He complained about the unfulfilled or failed United States promises to the region, asserting that it was time for Washington to do the right thing. “Year after year, we promise to make adjustment and provide parity,” he said. “Year after year, for one reason or another, our Caribbean friends do not see relief coming from this country. Now they have been hit by hurricanes.” And the relief, which the United States can provide, is in the CBI bill now before the House of Representatives and the Senate. That’s the kind of statement we would like to hear from Brooklyn Congressman Major Owens, an elected official who has at least three times more Caribbean immigrants in his district than Rangel can count in his. But then, few people would call Owens a friend of the Caribbean. Small wonder that Prime Minister Owen Arthur has threatened to come to New York and campaign against him because of his indifference to the needs of the region. Sadly, failure is a word which Caribbean nations have been forced to use when describing United States foreign policy in the region. Be it bananas, economic and social development or trade, the actions of Washington have either dimmed future economic prospects or sought to undermine the sovereignty of the various countries. That’s not the behaviour of a friend or a good neighbour. • Tony Best is the NATION’s North American Editor. 
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