Trade Commissioner says Bahamians must be vigilant amid US trade war

Chairman of the Bahamas Trade Commission Senator Barry Griffin said during an online forum last week that Bahamians have to be extremely vigilant amid the trade war between the United States and other nations, so that it is able to move quickly and decisively if the trade war negatively impacts The Bahamas.

“Right now, there are no policies or tariffs aimed directly at The Bahamas, so anything that we experience would be an offshoot, because the United States is our largest trading partner, and so really we’re watching to see if there are any negative effects on the American economy, on when American suppliers and American importers have to pay more for goods. That ultimately means that Bahamian importers will likely have to pay more for those goods, because we import about 90 percent of things into the country, and 80 percent of that 90 percent comes from the United States,” said Griffin.

There have been efforts to diversify The Bahamas’ trading partners prior to Donald Trump winning the US presidency. The National Trade Diversification Program is helping Bahamian businesses secure better prices by expanding their global supply chains.

Griffin continued: “We believed that it was in our best interest in terms of food security, but also in regard to other goods and industries, that we diversify where we get our products from. The trade war is showing us that we were on the right track. And so, we’re encouraging businesses to diversify their supply chain and to go directly to source countries. If you were a building supplies company, you’re importing wood, lumber, steel from the United States, we’re saying, look to Latin America, where the United States gets a lot of these products. If you’re in the food retail business, we’re saying, look to source countries for chicken, beef, pork, tuna, canned goods, all these sorts of things that, again, the United States also heavily imports.”

Griffin said despite not being a part of the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Single Market and Economy, the government is working with its CARICOM neighbors so that the region can speak with one voice on the global stage when it comes to the impact of the trade war.

“Anything that affects the local Bahamian consumer, anything that affects Bahamian businesses, is a concern for the government. So we’re working closely with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation... we have a very good relationship with the private sector.”