OPINION: Caribbean-US Relations in the Biden Era

by Joel Richards

(SearchLight) Now that the Biden Administration has begun, one would imagine that just about every country, region and major international organisation is positioning itself to get the attention of the President and his team. One would hope that the Caribbean grabs the attention of the new administration sooner than later, notwithstanding the asymmetries in size, power and influence in favour of the United States (US).

An area of immediate priority for the Caribbean in any approach to the Biden Administration should be combating the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In this regard, the Caribbean may wish to urge the US to use its leadership role around the world to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines and other methods for the treatment of COVID-19.

The Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) have developed a plan known as the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility, with the aim of advancing the fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. Several lower-income funded nations, who would otherwise be unable to afford these vaccines, as well as a number of higher-income self-financing countries that have no bilateral deals with manufacturers, will be covered by COVAX.

The Trump Administration had decided not to participate in the COVAX initiative. The Caribbean should encourage the Biden Administration to reconsider this decision because the presence of the US will add much needed resources to the COVAX facility.

The Caribbean may also wish to seek the support of the Biden Administration in pushing back against income-based criteria as a basis for determining which countries can have concessional access to vaccines.

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Source: CARICOM TODAY