Brexit will have long-lasting repercussions

Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) is a “watershed” event, which will have long-lasting repercussions, according to the Caricom Heads of Government.

In their communique issued on July 7, following their July 4-6 summit here, the Heads said they viewed Britain’s exit (Brexit) from the EU as a “watershed event in current world affairs whose geopolitical and geo-economic repercussions would be far-reaching and long-lasting.”

The Heads, the communique said, received a detailed brief on the political, diplomatic, trade, economic and financial ramifications of Brexit for the region as well as recommendations for addressing them.

They agreed that Caricom should continue to monitor developments as the departure process unfolded and emphasised the importance of a common and structured approach that combined the technical, political and diplomatic.

The communique said that Heads of Government emphasised that the United Kingdom and the European Union remain strong and valued partners of the Community.

The Heads also addressed the problems faced by the regional banking system as a result of international banks terminating corresponding banking relationships because of perceived risks of doing business in the region.

The Heads of Government reviewed the latest developments and underscored that correspondent banking was an important global public good and that the current de-risking strategy was discriminatory and counterintuitive to good public policy. They restated that Caricom’s trade, economic welfare and the transfer of remittances were gravely affected by the de-risking strategies of foreign banks.

In voicing concern that there was little progress on resolving the issue, they agreed that Caricom would continue its “robust and unrelenting advocacy” on the issue and that the Committee of Ministers of Finance on Correspondent Banking should maintain the current high level engagement.

The communique said that Heads of Government also agreed to host a Global Stakeholder Conference on the Impact of the Withdrawal of Correspondent Banking on the region, which would encompass banks and regulators from the region, the United States of America, Canada and Europe, international development partners and representatives from civil society.