Vice President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has stated that the decision by United States President Donald Trump to impose 38 per cent tariffs on goods imported from Guyana was neither surprising nor unexpected.
He made this statement during his weekly press briefing at Freedom House on Thursday.
Dr Jagdeo noted that, rather than being caught off guard, stakeholders had been waiting to see the specific nature of the announcement.
“The United States of America has announced a number of policies that will have implications for trade between Guyana and the US. Given the numerous calls we’ve received from Guyanese businesspeople—both exporters and importers—who are concerned about the impact of these tariffs on their businesses, I wanted to address this issue upfront. It’s no secret that President Trump made it clear during his campaign that, if re-elected, he would seek to address the significant trade imbalance between the US and several other countries. He openly stated that he would extensively use tariff increases as a tool to rebalance trade. So, President Trump’s announcement yesterday was not a surprise to us here in Guyana,” he said.
He went on to emphasise that reacting to the tariff as if it were a sudden or unprecedented move by the Trump administration would be inaccurate, as the policy aligns with the US president’s campaign promises.
“He campaigned on this promise… How did the United States determine the higher reciprocal tariffs? Many assumed it was based on our own trade barriers—meaning higher tariff rates for US goods coming into Guyana—but from what we have reviewed, and based on all available information, it appears that all the countries facing higher reciprocal tariffs are those exporting more to the US than they are importing. Essentially, these are countries with a trade surplus with the United States. So, it seems that the basis for the higher reciprocal tariff is trade surplus rather than individual tariff barriers in each country,” Dr Jagdeo explained.
According to UN Comtrade data for 2024, Guyana exported $3.3 billion worth of goods to the United States while importing $2.56 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $799 million.
However, Dr Jagdeo pointed out that the United States reported different figures to UN Comtrade, stating that Guyana’s exports to the US totalled $5.5 billion, imports stood at $1.3 billion, and the trade surplus amounted to $4.1 billion.
“So, there are discrepancies between our reporting to UN Comtrade and the US’s report to Comtrade. Clearly, there is an opportunity for us to collaborate with our US partners to clarify this information,” Dr Jagdeo said.
He added that Guyana’s import data indicates the country is importing far more from the United States than what is reflected in the UN Comtrade reports, suggesting that clarifying this data could significantly reduce the perceived trade surplus.
Dr Jagdeo further explained that Guyana’s major trade surplus is primarily due to oil exports in recent years. He noted that there is still room for discussion with the United States on these trade-related matters.
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo
