The Caricom Personal Sector Organisation (CPSO) is warning that the US’ determination to extend Trinidad and Tobago’s reciprocal tariff fee from 10 per cent to 15 per cent might have essentially the most extreme impression on any Caribbean Neighborhood (Caricom) member state.
– Commercial –
“Trinidad and Tobago was already essentially the most uncovered Caricom economic system beneath the reciprocal tariff regime,” stated CPSO chief govt officer and technical director, Patrick Antoine.
The tariff adjustment, which took impact on August 7, follows the introduction of a ten per cent baseline fee in April 2025 beneath Washington’s “America First” commerce coverage. Previous to April, Caricom member states loved duty-free entry to the US market by way of the longstanding Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI).
Antoine stated the upper tariff magnifies the dangers confronted by Trinidad and Tobago, including that the losses can be concentrated in important export sectors. “This adjustment not solely will increase the dimensions of potential losses, however it does so in sectors which might be important to our industrial capability and to US producers who depend on our exports for enter,” he stated.
CPSO modelling now initiatives potential annual export income losses of US$291.9 million for Trinidad and Tobago, up from US$194.6 million beneath the ten per cent baseline. Greater than two-thirds of these losses are anticipated within the base metals sector (US$199.3 million) and the chemical compounds sector (US$74.8 million).
The bottom metals class consists of iron and metal merchandise extensively utilized in US building, automotive and manufacturing industries, whereas the chemical compounds class covers exports comparable to anhydrous ammonia, methanol and urea — key inputs for fertiliser manufacturing, plastics, and different industrial processes.
Antoine linked the event to a broader erosion of Caricom’s commerce place with the US, warning that preferential entry that has underpinned the financial relationship for many years is being steadily eroded. “In our current submission to the US overview of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, we highlighted that these new tariffs erode the preferential entry that has underpinned our financial partnership with the US for many years. That erosion is now accelerating,” he stated.
The CPSO stated coordinated regional motion is urgently wanted. Antoine argued that the most recent tariff hike ought to be handled as a sign for fast response. “The joint regional and personal sector place that secured exemptions for China-built ships and short-sea transport for the area is a confirmed mannequin of collaboration,” he stated. “Now’s the time to use that very same resolve, to guard present commerce flows, interact the US on tariff differentials and place Trinidad and Tobago and Caricom for long-term power in a extra contested world market.”
