St Vincent forms task force in response to Trump’s tariff

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, – The St Vincent and the Grenadines says it has formed a task force in response to the decision by United States President Donald Trump to impose a 10 per cent tariff on goods entering the North American country from the Caribbean island.

Trump Wednesday announced the new tariff measure, ranging from 10 to 38 per cent for several countries worldwide, including those in the Caribbean.

In addition to the baseline tariff, Trump announced individualised “reciprocal” tariffs on various countries, including 34 per cent on imports from China, 20 per cent on the European Union, 32 per cent on Taiwan, and 38 per cent on Guyana.

Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry, and Labour Minister Saboto Caesar, in a statement broadcast on the state-owned media on Friday, said, “Yesterday, at the level of the Cabinet of St Vincent and the Grenadines, we established a task force to address the impacts of this tariff regime on the price of food in St Vincent and the Grenadines.”

Caesar said the country can ensure that it is not negatively impacted by the changes taking place globally by producing more food.

“Over the upcoming days and weeks, we are going to see an increase in the activities by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry, and Labour as it pertains to our quest to improve, to increase the production of food in our country.”

Caesar said the new tariff regime will impact the trade of commodities and it is important that St Vincent and the Grenadines as a producer of food with existing relationships globally address the important implications on food and nutrition security.

“It is the basic principle that food must always be available, affordable and accessible, and any change in tariffs globally will definitely impact on the price for food, not only in the United States of America, but globally,” he said.

Caesar said the country produces significant quantities of food which are exported to the region and internationally, adding, “we are a major exporter of dasheen and other root crops to the United States of America.

“With the new tariff system, what we are going to notice is that food entering the United States of America for re-export, attracting significant tariff increases. This will be passed on to consumers in receiving countries. Therefore, we have to manage the issue of imported inflation.”

Caesar said he had been extremely active in the 24 hours preceding the announcement, “ensuring that we started the work at the different buying depots.

“Contractors have been assigned to the depots in Lauders, in Langley Park, in La Croix, and we are going to work with a contract on the leeward side for repair works to be done to the Belmont facility.

“This is to ensure that our farmers have an opportunity and an avenue to be able to bring produce. The produce will be collected and sorted. Farmers will be paid, and we will be able to distribute this food to stakeholders in the supply chain.”

The nation’s agricultural produce purchasing depots have not been functioning for some time, with some falling into disrepair.

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