Gov’t to meet local exporters tomorrow to discuss potential impacts of US tariffs

– Dr Jagdeo says gov’t ‘ready’ to engage US Administration

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh, will meet with local exporters who may be affected by the tariffs imposed by the United States (US) Administration on Friday.

Vice President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, made the disclosure during a news conference with members of the media at Freedom House, Georgetown, on Thursday.  

Although oil and gas, gold and aluminium exports will be exempted from the higher rates of tariff, Dr Jagdeo said persons relying on income from exporting agricultural produce/products may be impacted significantly.

He explained, “And you know, larger numbers of people rely on agriculture for employment opportunities…that is why we are meeting with those groups to see how they are affected.”

Recently, President Donald Trump imposed a 10 per cent baseline tariff for countries globally, while higher rates of reciprocal tariffs were imposed on some 90 countries, including Guyana, which received 38 per cent tariffs.

Fast forward to Wednesday, April 9, President Trump announced a complete three-month pause on all the “reciprocal” tariffs that went into effect at midnight (April 10), with the exception of China.

Dr Jagdeo told reporters that discussions with local exporters will assess the impact of the tariffs, even the baseline 10 per cent.

“We want to learn all about this …to see if there is anything we [government] can do because it is one thing to talk about the reciprocal tariffs but there is a 10 per cent tariff in place [now],” he noted.

Importantly, Vice President Jagdeo said the government plans to use the 90-day window to engage diplomatically with the U.S. government on this trade matter. In fact, 75 countries have already reached out to the U.S regarding tariffs, including Guyana.

He believes Guyana has a strong case since the U.S trade data, used to calculate the percentage of tariff, differs from Guyana’s data, which is routinely submitted to the United Nations global trade platform, Comtrade.

For instance, U.S. trade data for 2024 shows that Guyana exported $5.5 billion to the U.S. but imported only $1.3 billion, creating a $4.1 billion trade surplus. In contrast, Guyana’s records show an $800 million surplus.

The PPP general secretary also dismissed the Peoples National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) allegations that the government was negligent in this matter, describing it as baseless.

He also made it clear that the government opposes the idea of retaliatory tariffs, calling it “hollow” and “stupid”. Guyana, the VP noted, will not panic or react in an antagonistic way and will pursue constructive engagement with the U.S to resolve the matter. “That is the approach that we will take on these matters,” the vice president underscored.