Martinique has reached a tipping point. The facts are well known, the assessments are shared, and the limitations of the current model are evident. What is lacking now is neither expertise nor tools, but the will to bring about a clear political choice.
There are two levers—clearly identified but too often treated as separate: the customs-free zone and the granting of regulatory powers appropriate to the region. Taken together, they can form the foundation of a a real economic boom.
The customs-free zone is neither an overseas exception nor a privilege. It is a standard tool for international trade, used within the European Union itself to promote local production, processing, and exports. If applied to Martinique, it would help reduce import costs, support local industry, and position the territory as regional hub.
But the free trade zone alone is not enough. Without regulatory agility, it remains confined within a framework designed for continental economies.
This is where the second lever comes into play: Regulatory powers within a framework. They make it possible to adapt certain economic, tax, or regulatory rules to the realities of Martinique, without breaking with the national and European legal systems.
This framework already exists. The’Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) explicitly recognizes the structural constraints of the outermost regions and allows for Targeted regulatory adjustments. Failing to use them to their full potential is now considered a political choice, not a legal impossibility.
The argument that things could get out of hand is often used to justify inaction. It does not hold up to scrutiny. Risks can be strictly controlled through clear checks and balances: the prefect's authority to conduct audits, ongoing oversight by the Regional Audit Office, ongoing monitoring by the Ministry of Finance, and complete transparency regarding the mechanisms.
Autonomy does not mean giving up control. It means empowerment, traceability and performance requirement.
This model is not just a theory. It works elsewhere: European special economic zones, differentiated port regimes, and international logistics hubs. Everywhere, success hinges on the same formula: economic incentives + regulatory autonomy + enhanced oversight.
To reject this combination today is tantamount to accepting the status quo : increased dependence on imports, low value creation, an economy on life support.
Take responsibility for the free trade zone and the regulatory powers, together, means choosing a Martinique that no longer endures, but one that is organizing its development.
So the issue is no longer a technical one. It is deeply politics. And economic history shows one thing: the regions that take off are the ones that dare to make decisions.
Gérard Dorwling-Carter.
