THE NEW Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Act, 2004, has been passed in the House of Representatives after three weeks of debate.
During Tuesday's sitting of the House, the bill giving effect to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas which will allow for the establishment of the legal foundation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) saw little controversy before the vote.
The bill will now go to the Senate for approval.
During the three-week debate, the House saw contributions from Opposition spokesman on tourism, Edmund Bartlett; Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology; and Minister of Development Dr. Paul Robertson, among others.
Dr. Robertson explained to the House that the CSME was a group of 14 sovereign states, plus Montserrat which remains a British dependency, "that will operate as a unified space where consumers and producers carry out transactions according to the same rules."
He also asserted that "the CSME and other regional arrangements represent a critical part of our strategy to meet the challenges of globalisation."
Dr. Robertson was preceded by Mr. Bartlett, but it was last week's presentation from Karl Samuda, Opposition spokesman on industry, with which he took issue.
Last week, Mr. Samuda had suggested that the CSME was a precursor to the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). He had indicated that Jamaica was ill-prepared to join the FTAA which is expected to come into force next year.
Dr. Robertson, pointing to some of the possible benefits of joining the FTAA, said Jamaica would gain increased access to neighbouring markets allowing opportunity to diversify exports.
The FTAA will create the world's largest trading bloc, covering some 800 million people in 34 countries.
