Human Development involves among other things expanding people's choices, enabling them to live secure lives with full freedoms and rights. Moreover, human development requires equitable, sustainable economic growth, promoting gender equality and promoting people's participation in decision that affect their lives.

Through the expansion of markets, fostering competition and disseminating knowledge, global trade can create opportunities for growth and promote the development of our people. In addition economic growth can lead to job creation, increased incomes and ultimately advance human development.

One might however ask the question; "How realistic is this?". Are we the people St. Kitts Nevis benefiting from participating in the global system? In other words are our people better able to live secure lives with full rights and freedoms?

Few observers question the potential advantages of global trade in the context of small states like St. Kitts-Nevis. Many people, institutions and even developing country governments have concerns about the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements, and how they are negotiated. Since its inception the WTO has faced tremendous criticism from across the political spectrum and other quarters, for failing to deliver the promised gains from trade integration. Many critics have called for an independent review of the global trading system from a human development perspective.

One might argue that countries are responsible for the extent to which they take advantage of increased trade for long-term development. However the multilateral system should be held accountable for influencing the environment in which government choices are made. While it is true that the purpose of the multilateral system; governed by the WTO , is to ensure a fair and unbiased rules- based trading system, one might still question whether the current trade regime enables St. Kitts-Nevis to design policies that promote human development.

St. Kitts-Nevis is a small open economy which has a number of implications. The fact that we are open to the rest of the world does have potential benefits but it also means that St. Kitts-Nevis is heavily exposed to events in global markets and developments in the global trading regime, over which we have little or no influence. More importantly, St. Kitts-Nevis also tends to rely heavily on taxing imports as a source of revenue. The challenges are obvious if these tariffs are reduced.

There is no doubt that our domestic markets are small and undiversified in terms of production and exports. Where one dominant activity has declined as in the case of sugar production, the natural thing is to replace it with another which adds to vulnerability to changes in the environment.

A third challenge is that of susceptibility to natural disasters and environmental change such as hurricanes, drought and flooding, which typically affect the entire population and economy because of our small size.

Finally and equally important is the limited capacity of both private and public sectors. More and more as we try to respond to the challenges and opportunities of globalization it becomes obvious that St. Kitts-Nevis do not have sufficient institutional capacity to participate fully particularly in the area of trade negotiations. In the case of the private sector there is a lack of diversification and domestic competition. Where does this leave us?  The answer is obvious - postponed successful development.

The challenges facing St. Kitts-Nevis highlighted above, combine to make the economy especially vulnerable to the rigors of the multilateral trading system. Does the WTO take all these into account? Is there a special mechanism in place to advise governments of small states like St. Kitts-Nevis how best to tackle volatility for example.

It is obvious to me that in order for the people of St. Kitts-Nevis to benefit from the potential advantages of participating in the global system, the current trade regime should provide us with policy space, giving us the flexibility we need to make institutional and other innovations. There needs to permit asymmetric rules that favour weak, small and vulnerable countries like St. Kitts-Nevis.

But haven't we been asking for all this over the past years when we attend these trade negotiations. Are our voices so quiet they cannot be heard or are we so insignificant that our views are simply ignored?  If that is the case we really need to consider whether participation in the global system a threat or opportunity for the people of  St. Kitts and Nevis?

Written and submitted by:

Jasemin C.Warner-Weekes

BSc. Economics (Hons)

Post Graduate Diploma - Int'l Relations

MSc. International Trade