Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten urges labour and fiscal reforms and careful refinancing of Dutch bullet loans due October 2025

In its June 2025 Economic Bulletin, the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) warned that, despite a return to positive growth after the pandemic, sustaining the recovery will require additional economic and fiscal reforms and stronger resilience to global uncertainty and climate risks. The bulletin calls for accelerated labour-market reforms and greater investment in human capital through education, adult training and on-the-job learning to reduce skills mismatches and widen participation in growth. It flags that complex procedures for hiring foreign workers can hinder business and encourage informal employment, while welcoming the removal of work-permit moratoria in sectors with acute shortages such as construction and hospitality. On public finances, the CBCS highlighted the need to refinance bullet loans from the Dutch state maturing in October 2025, stating that full repayment is not feasible given limited fiscal space and that refinancing should avoid rolling over debt without a sustainable repayment plan; it also points to demographic pressures, including ageing populations, as a structural risk to healthcare and social insurance systems. The bulletin also highlights trade and inflation vulnerabilities stemming from reliance on imports often routed through the United States, where higher tariffs and port fees could lift import costs, and recommends diversifying supply chains toward Latin America, CARICOM and the wider Caribbean. On climate resilience, it calls for national adaptation plans that translate existing strategies into actionable measures with clear timelines and monitoring frameworks.