On April 2, 2025, US president Donald J Trump announced so-called reciprocal tariffs on imports from about 90 nations, including Guyana. In his announcement, the president said the taxes are necessary to address the trade deficit between the US and other nations.
What does this mean? It means that the reciprocal tariffs were imposed on countries that export more to the US than they import.
Speaking on this matter at a press conference, Dr Jagdeo said this policy came as no surprise to Guyana, since Trump revealed his economic policies throughout his campaign trail. However, the vice president pointed out that the US trade data, used to calculate the percentage of tariffs, differs from Guyana’s data, which is routinely submitted to the United Nations global trade platform, Comtrade.
For instance, US trade data for 2024 shows that Guyana exported $5.5 billion to the US but imported only $1.3 billion, creating a $4.1 billion trade surplus. In contrast, Guyana’s records show an $800 million surplus.
Against this discrepancy, Dr Jagdeo said Guyana would seek further clarification from the US “… there is still room to discuss a lot of these issues with the United States of America…to clarify …any difference in data on which the calculations were made, which hopefully can result in a lower tariff because the United States have already made it clear [that] every country in the world would have to pay.”
The vice president pointed out that the trade surplus is largely driven by Guyana’s oil exports, which have increased since 2020.
It is important to understand that ExxonMobil and Hess Corporation, both oil giants in the US are majority holders of petroleum operations in Guyana. This means that more of the revenue from the exports ultimately benefits the companies.
Dr Jagdeo said Guyana can present a case for lower tariffs, given the US corporate presence in Guyana’s expanding petroleum sector. “We’re still to work closer with the US government on the numbers and to see if that is applicable in our case…clearly we would like to point out to the US, because we have good important data, that we are importing much more from the US, than what it is reported.”
Support for local businesses
Importantly, Dr Jagdeo said the government is committed to safeguarding local businesses and jobs while maintaining diplomatic relations with the US administration.
“We will be meeting with them, working with them to ensure that they can continue to access the US market and other markets in the world,” Dr Jagdeo affirmed.
Politicisation
Meanwhile, as opposition operatives attempt to politicize this trade policy, the vice president made it clear that this is a global US policy. In fact, the government was aware this policy was coming but was waiting to see its final structure.
“Yes, we have a strong partnership with the US government, but this is part of their policy to deal with their rebalancing of their trade, and it applies to everyone, everyone around the world,” Dr Jagdeo reminded, stressing that there is no need to panic.
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