Caribbean hoteliers pushing for US reconsideration of tariff and port fees

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, CHTA, has called on the United States to consider alternative measures to imposing tariffs and port fees on Caribbean destinations, noting the “considerable mutual benefits that tourism brings to both the Caribbean and the United States, particularly Florida”.

The CHTA said that it is advocating for modifications to the port-related policies currently under consideration, and is calling for a new approach to strengthen and safeguard the two-way ties in trade and travel between the region and the United States.

US President Donald Trump last Wednesday announced far-reaching new tariffs on nearly all US trading partners, including a 34 per cent tax on imports from China and 20 per cent on the European Union, among others, in a move economists and other traders say is designed to dismantle much of the architecture of the global economy and trigger broader trade wars.

In the case of the Caribbean, Trump announced a 10 per cent tariff on most regional countries, while for Guyana the tariff is as high as 38 per cent.

The US president also announced plans to impose a US$1 million to US$1.5 million levy on all Chinese-made ships entering US harbours.

In a statement, the CHTA, which describes itself as the region’s leading association representing private-sector tourism interests, cited its recent submission to the US Trade Representative and other US officials in response to a call for comments regarding proposed port service fees.

“The organisation argues that these fees, coupled with tariffs, will significantly increase the cost of imports, raising costs for both land and cruise travellers, and ultimately reduce traveller demand and spending,” the CHTA said while acknowledging Washington’s intention to expand the use of US built cargo vessels, it is warning of the policy’s “unintended consequences, particularly its timing”.

The hotel group said it presented compelling data highlighting the value of both land- and cruise-based travel to the US and the Caribbean, as well as the challenges that US and Caribbean-owned shipping companies would face in quickly transitioning away from Chinese-built vessels.

CHTA President Sanovnik Destang underscored the socioeconomic benefits that tourism brings to both regions, including job creation, business opportunities, and increased tax revenue.

“The region was beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel with many tourism-related businesses recovering from the tremendous impact the pandemic had on travel and tourism,” said Destang.

“Even as our industry has rebounded, we remain highly vulnerable to the high cost of operations, particularly food and beverages, driven largely by five years of inflation. One-third of our tourism-related businesses reported a net loss in 2024, according to CHTA’s annual performance study,” he added.

In its submission to the USTR, CHTA aligned with the Caricom Private Sector Organisation, CPSO, and shipping interests serving the Caribbean, calling for exemptions from the proposed fees for the region and for protection of smaller shipping companies that serve the Caribbean, often via multiple small transshipment ports.

It said Caribbean states within the proposed exemption would include: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, Guyana, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Sint Maarten, St Barthélemy, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Martin, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and Turks & Caicos. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands would be included as US territories.

The CHTA, citing the World Travel and Tourism Council, said tourism contributed an estimated US$91.2 billion to the region’s economies in 2024 and generated over 2.9 million jobs.

It said that figures provided by the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organisation indicated that year, the region welcomed more than 68 million visitors, half via cruise ships and half through stays in hotels and other accommodations.

The US is the largest supplier of food products to the Caribbean, with food and beverages representing the highest input costs. An estimated 70 to 80 per cent of these goods are delivered via maritime shipping from the US, according to the CPSO.

The CHTA said that Florida, in particular, would feel the impact. Most cruise visitors to the Caribbean originate from the state, and cruise ships are provisioned through Florida-based suppliers and shippers, contributing significantly to US businesses, employment, and local, state, and federal tax revenues.

The CPSO notes that each stayover visitor to the Caribbean contributes an estimated US$944 directly and indirectly toward incremental US imports, approximating US$6.2 billion in US exports to Caricom countries in 2023.

“Each cruise visitor is estimated to contribute US$23, directly and indirectly, toward incremental US imports, totalling approximately US$0.3 billion in US exports to Caricom countries in 2023,” the private sector grouping said.

Destang said that given the clear mutual advantages to both the US and the Caribbean of a vibrant regional hospitality and tourism industry, “and in the spirit of mutual collaboration, long-standing benefits from trade and tourism, and our shared commitment to free enterprise and democracy”, CHTA was hopeful its recommendations would be considered and adopted by the US for “mutual benefit”.

CMC