The Caribbean is a friend, not an enemy, regional leaders have informed Donald Trump following the US president’s imposition of global import tariffs.
Barbados PM Mia Mottley Extends Invitation to Trump
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley invited Trump to speak with regional leaders and “work together to keep prices down for all of our people”, she added: “I say simply to President Trump: our economies are not doing your economy any harm in any way. They are too small to have any negative or distorted impact on your country.”
Mottley warned Caribbean citizens that the tariffs would mean “higher prices for all of us”.
SVG Minister Gonsalves Warns of Tariff Impact
St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) finance minister Camillo Gonsalves, who is in the UK promoting foreign investment, especially from the Caribbean diaspora, was critical of the US tariffs ranging between 10% and 38% on Caribbean nations and said it may have negative effects on his nation’s agriculture and fisheries industries, and raise the cost of imports, which could translate to unsustainable inflation and living costs.
US Ports Exposing Region to Higher Costs
“We import many, many products, fruits, vegetables, manufactured goods, meats … cement, steel, through Miami and other US ports,” Gonsalves told the Guardian. “And not all of those products are of American origin … but it’s a convenient point of transit for the Caribbean.”
Passing through these US ports, he added, would expose them to the higher US tariffs. “Those tariffs will become a cost; they will become a tax, effectively to Caribbean consumers,” he said.
Calls for Regional Dialogue and Commonwealth Partnerships
The minister added that SVG was closely liaising with the other nations within the region who belong to Caricom to get into dialogue with the US over the issue and that it was also considering other options like creating partnerships with other nations within the Commonwealth.
He said: “I think that if the United States has made a policy decision to withdraw from global trade, it does not mean that global trade is dead. It simply means that one major player has withdrawn from the game … I believe that other countries that continue to see the advantages of global trade and globalisation will adapt … and I think that the Commonwealth connection is advantageous.”
Foreign Investment Could Spur Caribbean Growth
Foreign investment from SVG nationals overseas could propel very fast growth, he claimed, estimating that their “economic strength” was on the order of five times as great as their compatriots at home.
On Friday, Caricom’s Mottley chair issued a statement emphasizing the fact that the Caribbean was already realizing the advantage of work on economy diversification to overcome the “legacy of our colonial dependence” but admitting to the region continuing to “largely” being dependent upon imports, given concerns about how much effect tariffs might have.
Trade War’s Toll on Daily Life
“We are working and will continue to work to become more self-sufficient, but I want every Caribbean man and every Caribbean woman to hear me. This trade war and the possibility of a $1m to $1.5m levy on all Chinese-made ships entering US harbours will mean higher prices for all of us at the corner shop, higher prices at the supermarket, higher prices at the electronic store, higher prices for us at the shop, higher prices for us at the restaurant, higher prices for us at the car dealership and beyond,” she said.
In her speech, the Caricom chair outlined a package of actions to counteract the crisis. To begin with, she explained, the Caribbean people should “re-engage urgently, directly, and at the highest possible level with our friends in the United States of America“. She also called upon nations to come together and not be warring “among each other for political purpose”.
She advised that it was necessary to “redouble efforts to invest in Caribbean agricultural production and light manufacturing” and “build our ties with Africa, Central and Latin America, and renew those ties with some of our older partners around the world, in the United Kingdom and Europe, and in Canada”.
“We must not rely solely on one or two markets. We need to be able to sell our Caribbean goods to a wider, more stable global market,” she said.
