00:00The Donald Trump administration has only escalated long-standing United States policies ranging from sanctions to migration and trade.
00:09So says Trinidad-born professor of international relations Andy Knight, which may spark fear within some in the regional bloc
00:17based on the past.
00:18So small states now have to, the only solution for them is to depend on international law, depend on multilateral
00:27diplomacy, depend on climate agreements that has to be negotiated, depend on trade rules because they still want to trade
00:36with other people.
00:37Professor Knight states that a weakening of these rules damaged small states, which is what he says President Trump is
00:43managing to do.
00:44He believes it will encourage larger countries to push past similar boundaries, saying the sovereignty of the Caribbean cannot be
00:52preserved by isolated microstates.
00:55And that's where Professor Knight says CARICOM comes in, allowing the Caribbean to take sides with larger powers if needs
01:01be, but on the region's terms.
01:04In fighting, we can't have one or two nations in CARICOM deciding to take their own path and ignoring what
01:11the others want.
01:12I think there's a need there to be a little bit modest and recognize that we are all in this
01:18boat together.
01:19He says the regional body must be strengthened with member states working collectively rather than pursuing separate foreign policy paths.
01:27But Professor Knight points to Trinidad and Tobago as an example of growing divergence, particularly in its alignment with the
01:35United States.
01:36That position has already contributed to tensions within CARICOM and strained relations with Venezuela, including disruptions to energy cooperation.
01:46These are things that we need to be careful about because these kind of alignments may be short term.
01:53And you want to be in a position where you're not just aligning to one particular political party in the
01:59United States, but you have to prepare yourself for when that party goes out of office and a new party
02:05comes in.
02:06And I think that's one of the failures right now of the current prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago is
02:12that she has hitched her wagon too closely to President Trump.
02:16And not only to President Trump, but to the migrant element of President Trump, the right wing element of President
02:23Trump.
02:24According to Professor Knight, while Prime Minister Kamala-Poussard Bisesa might want to protect the national security interests of TNT,
02:31aligning too closely with a single U.S. administration could prove short-sighted.
02:37The longer term benefit would be to try to align your interests, your national interests, with the other Caribbean countries.
02:45Because let's not forget, Trinidad has a lot of trade relations with other countries in the region.
02:51What happens if the countries in the region decides to cut off?
02:55Professor Knight also calls on CARICOM to stand with Cuba and to form more meaningful partnerships with countries that will
03:02benefit member states.
03:04Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
Comments