Are Caribbean voices being heard in Washington?

Are Caribbean voices being heard in Washington? Caribbean government and private sector leaders are not making their voices heard in Washington as the U.S. Congress takes actions that will significantly impact Caribbean nations, said the executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Caribbean Central American Action USA.
   CCAA's Anton Edmunds told the Caribbean Shipping Association Executive Conference in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico Tuesday that Caribbean interests need to be more effective in advocating their concerns in Washington.
   Citing one glaring example, he said he approached Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, this year after she co-sponsored House bill, H.R. 1, that mandates full inspection of all air and sea cargo coming into the United States. He explained how stringent U.S. security requirement could hurt trade with Caribbean nations hard-pressed to pay for security programs, and was told he was the first person representing Caribbean interests that had approached her about the subject.
   'She said she had not heard from anyone else from the region, whether at the ambassador level or in the private sector,' he recalled, adding she indicated that Caribbean interests had basically dropped the ball by not speaking up about the issue.
   Edmunds also warned members of the shipping community not to rely too heavily on trade ministers and other government officials to represent the industry's interest at the international level.
   The industry needs to become directly involved, he said. 'We have some very, very bright ministers in the region, but they are not business people, and they have never run a business.'
   He urged Caribbean Shipping Association members to use their clout to help communicate with the United States on trade and security issues.
   'In the end, business people are going to have to proffer a solution to these issues,' Edmunds said.