ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the Caribbean islands, plus Belize and Guyana, although much of the quantitative data refers to the Caribbean Basin as a whole. The Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) was first unveiled by President Reagan on February 24, 1982, in an address before the Organization of American States. The Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act legislation which took effect on January 1, 1984, focused on duty-free access for selected Caribbean exports and a once and for all increase in development aid. The CBI is a constantly evolving package of programs intended to augment trade and capital flows between the United States and the Caribbean Basin. Most observers agree that the Caribbean Basin Initiative was designed to implement the Reagan administration's strategy of ensuring "security through development" in what it considered to be its private sea. The eligibility criteria to qualify as a CBI beneficiary are designed to create privileged access for US capital to the markets of the Caribbean.
