PM Browne: Trump’s proposed tariffs are ‘largest threat’ to the region

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LOOP TT:Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister has said US President Donld Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on goods imported from several countries is “the largest threat to the Caribbean region.”

Prime Minister Gaston Browne gave the comment to Loop News on the sidelines of the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean’s (CAF) first international economic forum in Panama City, Panama on January 30, 2025.

Trump has proposed implementing 25 per cent tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada and a tax as high as 60 per cent on goods from China.

With the Caribbean’s heavy reliance on US suppliers for food and essential goods, the impact will be significant when tariffs are combined with high shipping costs and other fees in the region.

Browne said he hopes Trump’s proposal is just an exaggeration and not his actual policy for trade relations.

“I hope that the proposed tariffications, that they are hyperboles, because if indeed the United States were to introduce tariffs in any significant way on a broad variety of goods, clearly it will impact significantly on growth and development within the Caribbean region,” he said.

“And perhaps this is one of the issues that we ought to address at CARICOM at our next meeting and for us to issue a joint statement or to write jointly to President Trump and his administration to ask them to consider the impact of any such tariffication on these small vulnerable countries in the Caribbean.”

Browne noted that rising prices will drive up costs and undermine the living standards many Caribbean islands have spent decades building.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. WELCOME to #trump_DEMIC 25!

    Actually, Mr. PM, the biggest threat to the Caribbean Region are…

    a…lack of accountability!
    b…corruption!

    Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
    De’ole Dutty Peg🦶🏾Garrat_Bastard

    Vere C. Edwards

  2. Trump: You’re already in business with China go to the Chinese…Think we havent been watching ya? Think again…Ok next question..No No NOT YOU!! You’re fake news nobody like fake news…Ok you go ahead please…

  3. Now fellow Antiguans, here’s a real test for Prime Minister Browne.

    Does he call out Trump’s ridiculous tariff hikes like other Latin American and world leaders, or will he (more than likely) pass on these horrendous increases onto us, the hardworking Antiguans.

    I appeal to the ABLP and Gastonite supporters to plead – in no uncertain terms – on behalf of the rest of the country to remind this government we cannot afford any more ongoing increases.

    Browne may not listen to his opponents, but as a custodian, he must stand up for fairness and our rights.

    HAS HE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO STAND UP TO TRUMP’S TARIFF HIKES LIKE OTHER GLOBAL LEADERS, AND CALL HIM OUT?

    Gaston must now desist from his current feelings of ‘Nikhedonia’ and get out of his comfort zone and help out the citizens of this great great country.

  4. Years we have been saying grow, produce our own. Caricom and this oecs thing is a joke. Whats have we really done to help people in the region. For years cable and wireless have reaped enormous profits in the Caribbean. have we ever thought to develop our own. Not even agriculture we are promoting. We are less advanced than we were 50’years ago. Caribbean politicians only care about themselves and the enrichment of their families. Time we hold them accountable.

  5. Trump doesn’t give a damn that his tariffs are going to hurt Americans, why will he care about the Caribbean? Americans are already crying over the price of eggs. Trump has made it clear that he’s not concerned about inflation.
    This term for Trump and his billionaire buddies, are to get as rich as possibly at the expense of the middle/working class — even if it means destroying the US in the process. Actually, that
    ultimately is the plan!
    There’s an agenda with a timeline that has to be met. You, Mr PM, knows — you have attended enough of their meetings and are privy to some of the secrets…The NWO, The Great Reset, Agenda 2030 is just around the corner.

  6. Gaston Browne and the other leaders in the Region doesn’t have to stand up to Donald Trump for anything, because they won’t win. It’s time for us to stop buying American products and trade with Brazil and the other Countries in South America, Canada, Europe and Asia.
    Brazil alone mostly offers better and cheaper products than the United States.
    No one has to do business with the USA, if the taxes are out of our reach. To hell with Donald Trump, he thinks that he can starve people into submission.

  7. @Vincent C. Parker…ah wah guarne?

    Let’s just say, that the CARICOM & the OECS (bear in mind, that the USVI, Puerto Rico, the French territories, Guyana will not sign on to what you’re suggesting & Gaston is still claiming, that CARICOM is a [rigged] Union): again, let’s just dream, that CARICOM & the OECS stop doing business with the USA, and in retaliation, TRUMP decides to increase the taxes, fees, etc on the businesses which support the TOURISM INDUSTRY and they pass these [costs] unto their customers, causing say a drop in just 30% of the Cruise Industry passengers and 15% of the stay over tourists, what kind of an effect, do you think will happen to Quasi Nations like Antigua, Barbuda & REDONDA economy, that depends on TOURISM, our one and only INDUSTRY of significance?

    The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has a part of your answer.

    Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
    De’ole Dutty Peg🦶🏾Garrat_Bastard

    Vere C. Edwards

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