Yankee dollar
It appears all three BES islands that have chosen to become overseas public entities of the Netherlands will probably go with the US dollar as official currency once the Netherlands Antilles is dismantled. Certainly for St. Eustatius and Saba it seems the logical choice, because of the fact that the preferred currency on those islands is already the dollar.
Not only that, but tourism from primarily North America is the main industry, while the contribution by Statia’s oil terminal to the local economy also involves dollars. In addition, practically everything consumed on the islands comes from the U.S.
Because the three BES islands chose to become part of the Netherlands one might expect the euro to be a serious option, but the shock to their US-oriented economies would be too great, as experience on the French side of “The Friendly Island” has shown.
Maintaining the Antillean guilder, which one would expect could be an option for especially Bonaire – if St. Maarten and Curaçao agree to continue with a joint currency and Central Bank – is not considered attractive, also because it goes against the whole idea of getting out from under Willemstad.
For St. Maarten, a decision on the future currency cannot wait much longer, because of the uncertainty continued lack thereof brings. The plan is still to maintain a monetary union with Curaçao, but the talks are still stuck on primarily the division of seats in the board and management of the Central Bank.
If no agreement can be reached, it would appear the US dollar is also the most logical choice for St. Maarten, with its one-pillar tourism economy and the vast majority of visitors coming from North America. If the talks on sharing a currency and Central Bank with Curaçao don’t progress any time soon, preparations should start to make the dollar the new country’s main currency once and for all.
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