CPSO: Tariffs could lose Trinidad and Tobago almost US$300m in revenue

A cargo ship docked at the Port of Port of Spain. - File photo

The Caricom Private Sector Organization (CPSO) has said that Trinidad and Tobago could face up to US$291.9 million in potential annual export revenue losses after the US government’s decision to raise TT’s tariff rate from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

​“This figure widens the gap between TT and other Caricom members in terms of the potential export losses to be incurred as a result of the US measure.”

​The CPSO said over two-thirds of the expected losses are concentrated in the base metal and chemicals sectors. The estimated losses stand at US$199.3 million and US$74.8 respectively.

​“Together, these exports from TT anchor the country’s industrial capacity and also feed into US supply chains that rely on competitively priced raw materials.”

​The CPSO said revenue loss for the agriculture and food products sector would be an additional US$9 million.

​“While the magnitude of the potential revenue loss is not as large as the two sectors named above, the implications are far from benign. This sector sustains small producers and rural livelihoods, ranging from fish products, which are an important export to US food markets, to prepared condiments, sauces and seasonings, which are supplied to both diaspora communities and the growing specialty food segments of the US market.

​“For many of these micro and small exporters, the additional 5 per cent, compounded onto the 10 per cent announced in April, will present an even greater challenge to their export competitiveness and to the foreign exchange earning potential of the TT economy,” the CPSO said in a media release on August 20.

​CPSO CEO Dr Patrick Antoine said TT was already the most exposed Caricom economy under the reciprocal tariff regime.

​“This adjustment not only increases the scale of potential losses, but it does so in sectors that are vital to our industrial capacity and to US manufacturers who rely on our exports for inputs,” he said.

​Antoine also linked the increase to a broader erosion of Caricom’s historic trade position with the US.

​“In our recent submission to the US review of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, we highlighted that these new tariffs erode the preferential access that has underpinned our economic partnership with the US for decades. That erosion is now accelerating.”

​The CPSO said that the America First policy and the April imposition of reciprocal tariffs were the wake-up call for the region.

​“This latest adjustment to 15 per cent is the signal of the need for rapid, coordinated action to safeguard competitiveness.”

​Antoine said that action must be built on proven models of collaboration.

​“The joint regional and private sector position that secured exemptions for China-built ships and shortsea shipping for the Caribbean is proof that when we act collectively, we can protect our strategic interests.

​“Now is the time to apply that same resolve, to protect current trade flows, engage the US on tariff differentials and position TT and Caricom for long-term strength in a more contested global market.”