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St John’s, Antigua, December 21 — Prime Minister has issued a firm, deeply reasoned response to remarks by Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister , warning that rhetoric which questions the reliability of risks undermining a regional partnership built on facts, sacrifice, and decades of shared purpose.

In a statement grounded in data rather than diplomacy-by-soundbite, Browne underscored that has never challenged the sovereign right of any member state to pursue bilateral relations. What it rejects, however, is the notion that engagement with international partners—particularly the —somehow diminishes regional loyalty. Responsible diplomacy, Browne argued, is not subservience; it is statecraft.

The Prime Minister dismantled claims of CARICOM’s unreliability by pointing to Trinidad and Tobago’s own export windfall. In 2024 alone, earned over US$1.1 billion in foreign exchange from CARICOM trade, its second-largest export market after the United States. More strikingly, Trinidad and Tobago remains the only CARICOM member to have sustained a net positive trade balance with the Community since 1973.

That advantage, Browne noted, is no accident. It has been underwritten by the Common External Tariff, through which smaller states absorb higher consumer costs to protect Trinidad and Tobago’s manufacturing base. In 2024, CARICOM states collectively forfeited an estimated US$142.7 million in customs revenue—an unspoken subsidy paid in the name of regional solidarity.

Beyond economics, Browne highlighted security cooperation as another pillar of CARICOM’s reliability. As Trinidad and Tobago confronts escalating organised crime, regional intelligence-sharing and law-enforcement coordination have been indispensable—support Antigua and Barbuda has consistently provided.

The statement concluded with a categorical rejection of claims that Antigua and Barbuda has disparaged the United States, reaffirming its long-standing collaboration in security, immigration, and multilateral diplomacy. CARICOM, Browne insisted, is a partnership of shared history and shared destiny—one strengthened by facts and mutual respect, not weakened by divisive rhetoric.