Webinar on CARICOM Industrial Policy

This webinar examined whether regional cooperation could turn the CARICOM Industrial Policy and Strategy from an ambitious framework into tangible development outcomes. Speakers discussed the structural challenges facing Caribbean economies — including limited scale, fragmented markets, and constrained fiscal space — and explored how regional coordination could help overcome these barriers. 

The conversation focused on the institutional and financial conditions required to operationalise CARICOM’s priority industrial ecosystems, spanning sectors such as agriculture, digitalisation, health, tourism, and MSMEs. Participants highlighted the importance of aligning trade frameworks, reducing non-tariff barriers, strengthening regional institutions, and mobilising financing that supports productive upgrading. Rather than treating regional integration as an end in itself, the discussion framed cooperation as a practical tool for expanding market access, building capabilities, and supporting inclusive industrial development across the Caribbean.