The Bahamas' Trade Alliances: CARICOM and the Caribbean Basin Initiative

The Bahamas is a member of two key regional trade frameworks:

1. Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

A 15-member integration bloc promoting economic cooperation, a single market (CSME), and coordinated foreign policy. The Bahamas participates in most areas but has opted out of the CSME's free movement of labor and capital provisions.

2. Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI)

A U.S. unilateral preference program (enacted 1983, expanded 2000) granting duty-free entry to the U.S. for most goods from beneficiary Caribbean countries, including The Bahamas.

These memberships facilitate intra-regional trade and preferential access to the U.S. market.