PM Browne to Join CARICOM Leaders in Washington Talks with U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio on Trade, Migration, and Regional Ties

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Antigua PM Among CARICOM Leaders to Attend Crucial U.S. Talks on Trade, Migration, and Regional Cooperation

Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne will be among seven CARICOM leaders meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on May 6, a high-level dialogue that could reshape regional relations amid mounting global and economic challenges.

The meeting is part of Secretary Rubio’s early outreach to the Caribbean Community, signaling what Ambassador Sir Ronald Sanders described as “a genuine willingness to hear the Caribbean speak for itself.”

Barely three months into office, Rubio has already conferred with six CARICOM heads and now prepares to engage leaders from the six independent Eastern Caribbean states and The Bahamas.

With the U.S. recently implementing sweeping tariffs under President Donald Trump’s April 3 directive, the talks take on added urgency.

A key concern will be the future of the Caribbean Basin Initiative—a trade framework established in 1983 that provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for many CARICOM goods.

The new tariffs cast uncertainty over the program’s continued benefits for Caribbean exporters.

In his latest commentary, Sir Ronald Sanders—Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the U.S. and the OAS—outlined additional items expected to dominate the May 6 agenda: U.S. claims of Cuban medical worker exploitation, geopolitical tensions over China and Taiwan’s involvement in regional development, deportation protocols for Caribbean nationals, and the status of Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) programmes.

Leaders from the Eastern Caribbean, including Prime Minister Browne, are expected to push back firmly against U.S. suggestions that Cuban medical professionals working in their countries are victims of trafficking.

CARICOM governments argue these workers are treated fairly, paid directly, and help fill critical healthcare gaps left by the emigration of locally trained personnel.

The CBI programmes—which have become essential revenue sources for small Caribbean economies—are also expected to come under U.S. scrutiny.

However, leaders will reiterate that these programmes are not pathways to U.S. citizenship and already include strict vetting and exclusions in line with U.S. concerns.

Despite differences, the message from CARICOM will be one of partnership and shared responsibility.

From counter-narcotics and border security to climate resilience and public health, the Caribbean remains a reliable U.S. ally, as Sanders noted: “This is not a relationship of convenience, but of choice—anchored in the urgent, hemispheric challenges we face together.”

With a U.S.–CARICOM trade surplus of nearly US$6 billion in 2024 and sustained cooperation on security matters, the region hopes the May 6 meeting will mark a meaningful step in reaffirming mutual respect and deepening ties in a rapidly shifting global environment.

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