In light of the current stagnation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) project of CARICOM, the importance of the OECS Economic Union lies in two areas, namely: 1. Providing a platform and instrument for socio-economic development of the OECS; and  2. Giving hope to current and future integration efforts in the wider region.
With respect to the first, the new Economic Union will provide a single financial and economic space, which, through a process of aggregation, should lead to the following advantages:   Economies of scale in production, distribution, marketing and public administration;    The spread of risk across a greater land space and a bigger population; and    Increased capacity to negotiate with third countries, groups of countries, regional and international institutions and foreign private investors.