Abstract Exports of apparel represent the principal link of the Caribbean Basin to the international economy. These exports arise from a combination of factors, including low salaries, tax incentives, and preferential access to the North American market designed to assist US apparel firms compete better against Asian imports in their own market. The weakness of this model is that it produces an illusory competitiveness based on artificial advantages, not an authentic competitiveness that improves the productive base of the economy by way of the transfer of modern technologies, the creation of deeper linkages, more specialized training and enterprise development