This study provides an analysis of links between trade liberalisation, trade performance and competitiveness in the Caribbean. The study takes an eclectic approach, borrowing from different strands of theory and empirical findings, where necessary. Nevertheless from a broad conceptual frame of reference, an effort is made to analyse the structural, institutional and market (demand and supply); factors that impinge on trade performance and competitiveness outcomes in the region. This approach, it is believed, provides the most relevance for analysing the real world situation in the Caribbean, where the underlying structure and logic of the economy, complemented by institutional arrangements, hold the potential for thwarting or catalysing improved production, exchange, competitiveness and structural transformation.