Farley fears US tariffs could cause price spikes in Tobago

Tobago Correspondent

Tobago House of Assembley Chief Secretary Farley Augustine is warning that new United States tariffs will affect global trade and lead to higher prices for goods in Tobago.

Speaking during an interview following the launch of Courts’ Business Solution showroom at Gulf City Mall, Lowlands, Augustine said many items sold on the island will be impacted.

“That’s going to impact global trade significantly, it’s going to impact the cost of goods and services,” he said. “We are here at Courts where they have published for Tobago commercial kitchen items, most of these items will attract some tariff on it, so the cost of goods will go up, the cost to produce goods will go up, the cost of raw material will go up.”

He explained that Tobago’s reliance on imports makes it vulnerable to such increases.

“In our society, we tend to essentially consume goods from the United States and the first world, so we can expect increasing prices in our stores,” Augustine said.

However, he believes the situation presents an opportunity for Tobagonians to return to traditional, locally sourced foods and support domestic producers.

“This should perhaps behoove us to produce locally, to buy local, to eat local, to farm more, to eat the foods that we grow up on, to perhaps choose cassava over wheat, to perhaps go by the local fishermen and those wearing the chickens as opposed to the imported goods,” he said.

“Because that will make the difference in terms of how we are able to feed our families.”

Augustine’s comments come as economists warn that tariffs imposed by major economies could ripple through global supply chains, raising costs in smaller markets like Tobago that import the majority of their food and consumer goods.

He stressed that local farming, fishing and poultry rearing could help cushion the blow. While he did not announce any new programmes during the interview, he asked Tobagonians to adjust their buying habits in anticipation of price hikes.

“Perhaps go by the local fishermen and those wearing the chickens as opposed to the imported goods,” he repeated.

“That will make the difference in terms of how we are able to feed our families.”

Augustine said higher tariffs are outside the control of the Tobago House of Assembly but called on those on the island to take proactive steps to protect their food security.