In the era of Trump, time for love after love

It has barely been a week in the life of the second Trump administration but the seismic shifts in US policy to the extreme right already have profound implications for the Caribbean. Since taking office a week ago on Monday, Donald Trump has swiftly enacted a raft of decisions with direct impact on us — from withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organisation to freezing foreign aid and threatening tariffs on neighbours in the Americas.

The foreign assistance work in the region out of US Embassy Bridgetown through USAID and its programmes to make a positive difference in the lives and livelihoods of our people has doubtless been brought to a screeching halt, putting Barbadian and Caribbean career professionals on pause if not an abrupt full stop. In the US, our Caribbean communities for ethnic profiling as targets for deportations that apparently do not distinguish criminals from hard-working if undocumented immigrants.

Yet, we have a choice on how to respond to Washington’s inward reflex towards nativism and imperialism. This moment requires neither whimpering nor angry whining but bold and positive action that might well force us, at long last, to turn to our strengths and values of regional integration and progressive change. Rather than engage in performative posturing, we in the Caribbean must nod, smile, turn and quietly walk away from an abusive and deeply unfulfilling marriage.

Rather than merely reacting to the likely fallout from the cessation of programmes linked to environmental protection, climate change and sustainable development, we must make a paradigm shift in our political and economic strategy that emphasises self-reliance, regional interdependence and solidarity to fulfil a truly Caribbean agenda.

The cornerstone of this new approach must be a renewed commitment to regional economic integration. Job #1: Complete implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, not as a distant goal but as an urgent necessity. Fostering intra-regional trade and investment will build resilience against external shocks and reduce our dependence on traditional economic partners. Beyond mere trade agreements, there is a real chance to develop regional value chains in agriculture, manufacturing, renewable energy and intellectual property.

At the same time, we must pivot decisively towards the Global South. The Caribbean has long stood at the crossroads of North and South but now is the time to deepen our economic and diplomatic ties with our Latin American neighbours and emerging economies in Africa and Asia. Initiatives like the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) need to become more significant avenues for cooperation, while expanded trade and investment links with West Africa, China, India and Brazil can open new markets for Caribbean goods and services.

It is also time to renew the focus on food security and agricultural development. The CARICOM “25 by 2025” initiative, aimed at reducing food imports by 25 per cent through increased domestic production, cannot now be a pipe dream but an utter necessity. Climate-smart agriculture practices and establishing regional food processing and distribution networks will not only enhance our food security but also create new economic opportunities for our farmers and entrepreneurs.

We have already had to shift our dependence on American agriculture in the wake of bird flu. Why stop at eggs and milk cows? Upholding the health and safety of our people and farms may indeed lead to higher prices for alternatives but this should only be temporary with active government support that enables competition and ensures our populations are not unduly burdened.

The transition to renewable energy presents another pivotal opportunity. The Caribbean is blessed with abundant solar, wind, wave, and, in the Windward and Leeward Islands, geothermal resources. Boldly adopting clean energy solutions and establishing a regional renewable energy research and development hub can reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels while positioning ourselves for energy independence.

Ultimately, we must reimagine and diversify our tourism and services industries, revisiting the very policies that in the last year resulted in the US replacing the UK as tourism’s dominant source market here. Further developing niche markets in heritage and culture, food, eco-tourism, wellness and sport can attract a broader range of visitors, increase the value added, and deepen linkages to agriculture and the creative industries, among others. Let’s build on our success in promoting the Caribbean as a hub for remote work and digital nomads, tapping into new sources of growth in the digital age.

Perhaps this threat to our traditional economic model is the welcome breeze that will finally blow down a rickety structure that impoverished our economic and physical wealth at the enrichment of American states like Florida led by its right-wing governor.

What will be left from all this tumult? It will either be the detritus of declining economies and confused citizens in a zero-sum game of winners and losers or a gleaming fresh path of self-reliance, regional solidarity, and forward-thinking development. Perhaps now, at last, we will meet ourselves coming back, as Derek Walcott’s Love After Love foretells:

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was yourself.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you.