Caribbean governments react to new Trump tariffs

By Bert Wilkinson Posted on April 3, 2025

Caribbean governments reacted cautiously Thursday to the new system of tariffs imposed on countries worldwide by the Trump administration in the US, with most saying they will either wait and see or are willing to engage American authorities in the coming weeks.

For most countries in the region, the tariff rate for exports hovered around 10 %, but Guyana, which exports crude oil, rums, gold, timber, fish, shrimp, and agricultural products to the US, was blitzed with a 38 % rate that triggered an immediate reaction from a baffled Irfaan Ali administration.