Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis addressed the possible impact of international tariffs in an address released earlier this week. Also this week, US President Donald Trump announced a ninety day pause on the 10% reciprocal tariffs that he imposed on country’s around the world including The Bahamas and other Caribbean nations.
In his address Mr. Davis said that the government has been in contact with US officials, they are in talks with Bahamian exporters and are working with other Caribbean nations on diplomatic efforts concerning the tariffs.
Mr. Davis also spoke to the government’s efforts to diversify trade. He said, “my government has taken trade diversification seriously from the start which means that for the first time our country has in place an agency dedicated to expanding trading opportunities and a national trade policy. Significant efforts to create new trade relationships were already underway and those efforts will now be intensified. The new tariffs are likely to cause new inflationary pressures which would mean higher prices for Bahamian consumers. For a country like ours higher prices will add to what is already an unbearable high cost of living. We’re very concerned about the impact on Bahamian families.”
According to the Prime Minister the US tariffs are more than they have been in more than a century and the interconnectivity of the world’s supply chains makes it difficult to predict precisely what happens next. “We may be in uncharted territory but we know how to survive storms. We have always found a way to create opportunities out of uncertainty, to forge clarity and purpose from chaos and confusion,” he said.
Mr. Davis also said the nation’s tourism industry will be affected by the tariffs. However the government is relying on its energy reform initiatives and its reduction in VAT on unprepared food items to assist in combating high prices.
