00:00Economist Gavin Jofield notes that just six months ago, exports from Trinidad and Tobago to the United States did not attract tariffs.
00:11However, he says that the newly imposed 15% levy has changed that landscape, driving prices up for local goods in the U.S. and threatening to curb demand.
00:22Yet the economist sees more than a challenge. He sees an opening to deepen trade with other well-established markets and diversify the nation's export reach.
00:34So businesses, they themselves would also be facing potentially a situation where they raise less revenue exports and will have to seek alternative markets and probably seek to deepen their relations, their trade relationships with markets that already have existing relations.
00:59According to Jofield, the current situation also presents an opportunity to strengthen regional cooperation.
01:07I think we have the opportunity to do it collectively with CARICOM.
01:12I think that could help us to enhance our negotiating power and see the extent to which we can get a better deal as a region than we would as an individual nation.
01:28Jofield tells The Morning Edition that although there are inevitable pressures, the 15% tariff is not purely negative and can serve as a catalyst for broader market growth.
01:41That is not all doom and gloom. It is a challenge and it will be a challenging situation for domestic consumers and businesses.
01:49But if it is any consolation, we are not facing the worst of the tariffs and we do have alternatives.
02:01It is just building, getting the benefit from some of those alternative actions would take a bit of time.
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