KINGSTON — The CARICOM tariff harmonization meeting at the New Kingston Hilton closed Tuesday evening with a six-paragraph document the Secretariat is calling a “framework of intent.” It is not a treaty. It is not a binding agreement. It contains no implementation timeline. It commits the bloc to “continued engagement on harmonization at a pace appropriate to member-state circumstances” — language Trinidad’s delegation reportedly drafted and the rest accepted to avoid a public failure.
Prime Minister Holness was scheduled to deliver closing remarks. He did not. The PM’s communications office issued a written statement Tuesday at 9:47 PM, after the closing dinner had concluded, calling the framework “a meaningful step.” He took no questions.
This is now three scheduled appearances Holness has missed in four days: Sunday’s opening press scrum, Monday’s mid-talks briefing, Tuesday’s closing remarks. The PM’s office has cited “private engagements” or “scheduling conflicts” each time. Reporters from the Gleaner, the Observer, Nationwide News Network, and Yard Report have all confirmed they were given less than four hours’ notice on each cancellation.
The opposition People’s National Party issued a statement Wednesday morning calling the absences “an abdication of regional leadership at the precise moment Jamaica was positioned to lead.” The PNP General Secretary asked for a parliamentary statement from the PM “at the earliest opportunity.” No date has been announced.
What was actually agreed in Kingston: the bloc will reconvene in October. The framework will be “revisited.” Trinidad will be asked to “engage further with member-state concerns.” None of this is binding. None of it changes the import duty rates that have stalled regional trade since 2019.
What was not agreed: the Common External Tariff timeline. The dispute resolution mechanism. The schedule for tabling implementation legislation in member-state parliaments. The penalty structure for non-compliance. Any of the substantive items the November 2025 summit in Bridgetown placed on the table.
What we are not yet calling: whether this is a clean failure or a managed retreat. The Secretariat’s working notes from Tuesday’s final session — obtained by Yard Report on background — suggest at least three delegations preferred to walk away with no document at all rather than sign the “framework of intent.” They were overruled by the Chair.
The Chair, of course, is Mottley. Who will hand the file to whoever takes over in July.