The Belize government has launched has launched a new project aimed at strengthening the competitiveness, climate resilience, and inclusiveness of selected Article 164 industries in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
CARICOM’s Article 164 promotes industrial development in the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) of the region by allowing temporary tariff protections. It also helps the LDCs build competitive manufacturing sectors and share fairly in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) which allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the 15-member grouping. The government said that through the Directorate General for Foreign Trade (DGFT) and in coordination and grant funding from the Barbados-based CARICOM Development Fund (CDF), it has launched the 36-month ‘Strengthening Climate-Resilient and Inclusive Value Chains in Article 164 Industries through ESG-Driven Research, Capacity Building and Policy Reform,’ project to be implemented from September 2026.
The initiative forms part of a wider CARICOM effort to strengthen industries benefitting from Article 164 and Belize is serving as the pilot country for this initiative, putting the regional programme into practical action at the national level.
In Belize, the project will focus on three priority areas, namely furniture, animal feed, and turmeric. These areas were identified through regional and national consultations, engagement with Article 164 firms, and analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing the sectors.
The project will provide practical support in areas including industry research, policy development, business and technical capacity building, export readiness, climate resilience, sustainable practices, and value chain development. The aim is to help businesses and industry stakeholders better understand and address the challenges affecting their growth and competitiveness.
The project was formally launched through a Stakeholder and Ministry Kick-Off Session, which brought together representatives from government ministries and agencies, technical institutions, industry representatives, and other partners.
The session provided an opportunity to establish a shared understanding of the project, discuss roles and responsibilities, and identify the information, expertise, and industry perspectives needed to support implementation.
The CDF acting regional director Kyron Barker, and Oscar Arnold, the chief executive officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, addresses the session, with Janina Choj, the project lead and trade economist responsible for the CSME, providing an overview and implementation approach to the project.
Government said that stakeholder collaboration will remain an important part of the project throughout its implementation, including through consultations, information and data sharing, technical input, review of project outputs, monitoring, and identification of challenges and lessons learned.
‘Through this partnership, the Government of Belize and the CARICOM Development Fund aim to support stronger, more competitive, climate-resilient, sustainable, and inclusive Article 164 industries, while generating lessons that can contribute to the wider CARICOM regional effort,’ it added.