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MINISTER OF Trade and Industry Satyakama Maharaj met with South Carolina Congressman Rep. Ralph Norman to raise concerns about tariffs imposed on TT exports to the US.
Maharaj announced his meeting with the congressman on his social media pages on August 16. He said the meeting took place while he was “away on private business.”
“The discussion was well received and I am optimistic that these issues will be addressed in the near future,” he said.
Maharaj recently called the imposition of a 15 per cent tariff on TT exports to the United States as a “blessing,” while speaking to reporters at the Emancipation celebration on August 1 at Emancipation Village in the Queen’s Park Savannah.
“What people see as obstacles we see a stepping stones. This is the best thing to happen. It is long overdue,” he told reporters on Emancipation Day.
Tariffs are essentially a tax charged on goods imported from other countries.
For example, if TT had a 20 per cent tariff on a particular US-made item costing US$10, when it is imported, it will have an additional US$2 dollar charge.
In this case, items going from TT to the US will face a tariff. This means, importers will have to pay a higher price for TT goods, which they can either decide to absorb as an added cost of doing business or pass on to customers.
On January 20, hours after he was sworn in as the President of the US Donald Trump announced he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, starting February 1. This, however, was put off several times after calls and negotiations were held between the three country’s leaders.
That was until April 2 when Trump announced tariffs on imports coming from all countries in the world on a day he called “Liberation Day.”
At that time, TT was stuck with what was then the US's baseline global tariff of ten per cent on all imported products.
But on July 31 the White House announced “further modifications” to the tariff regime on goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, on or after 12.01 am eastern time, seven days after the order.
TT was then listed as being subject to a 15 per cent tariff.
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