Trapped and tariffed is not just a headline nor is it a simulation: this is our current reality.
With each passing day, the trap is tightening as we struggle to eke out a place in this era where self-serving hegemony is being packaged and dished out to us as patriotic protection of US interests.
In just three months, Jamaica has been tariffed, sidelined, and squeezed by a global superpower we’ve spent decades trying to appease. Yet, we are swiftly moving beyond collateral damage and are becoming part of the main event in a trade war where we have no weapons, no shield, and no backative.
Even as our government accommodatingly waves flags of diplomacy, America is hell-bent on sharpening its catastrophic economic sword. It’s time to face the facts that this is not a foreign policy shift – this is economic domination. From dismissing multilateralism to unilaterally dictating terms, then extracting harmful concessions, to abandoning obligations, they are no longer leading by example but by imposition disguised as “national interest”.
The hardest pill to swallow in this ill-conceived neo-mercantilism is that we helped to build the trap we’re now caught in.
The latest slap across our face is a 10 per cent tariff on Caribbean exports to the United States, a move that will make our goods more expensive, less competitive, and, in some cases, dead on arrival in the US market. We have no ability to reciprocate.
We are a small, indebted country that imports more than we export, with a chronic trade deficit that favours the United States by over US$1.5 billion annually. This is not ‘partnership’, it is dependency which is deep, historical, and now economically suffocating.
You might be wondering, if our goods are taxed at the lower end of US tariffs while others face rates of 30 per cent or even 60 per cent, doesn’t that make us more competitive? Not necessarily.
It’s not just about the tariff rate, it’s about what we’re exporting, who our buyers are, and whether, in today’s economic climate, they can afford to spend more. If our products end up being more expensive than similar goods made in the US, then we’ve got a real problem.
The withdrawal of USAID funding has already left a gaping hole in community development, and even government cooperation programmes. Our prime minister formed a national task force to assess the fallout, and we are still awaiting its recommendations.
In healthcare, the crisis is looming. Jamaica’s reliance on Cuban doctors is a critical condition, especially in rural parishes where our own medical staff are spread thin. But the US, branding this partnership as “medical trafficking”, is actively undermining it. Remove Cuban support and we will buckle under the weight of healthcare worker shortages.
Then, there’s tourism. It already made headlines in this newspaper. US travel policy changes are already disrupting flight patterns among Jamaicans, tightening transit routes, and thwarting American interest in travel.
It must be noted: most visitors to Jamaica pass through US hubs. If fears and costs continue to rise, many will simply choose to stay home. We will feel it in our hotels, our taxis, our restaurants and attractions, and throughout our economy like a tremor.
Simultaneously, deportations are increasing. You don’t need binoculars to see the deeper consequences. Tens of thousands of Jamaicans may be sent back from the US, and many with no support system, no income and no integration plan.
They return to a country where economic output is flat, job creation is sluggish, and public services are under pressure. Frankly, some of those being returned are not coming back to live humbly and quietly.
Meanwhile, the flow of illegal firearms from US ports into Jamaica continues almost unchecked. The same US that demands we invest in border control and intelligence has made no meaningful investment in helping us stop the flood of weapons.
Since the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001 – often referred to as 9/11 – we have spent billions upgrading our ports and airports to secure their interests. Yet, we are still left to handle the consequences of their porous gun laws. Unfortunately, every policy out of Washington carries a reminder: You are not our equal, nor a partner. You are a pawn.
Even recent diplomatic visits carry that subtle shift in tone. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during his visit to Kingston, offered polite nods but little in the way of promises.
“We understand the strain some of these policies place on our Caribbean friends, and we’re evaluating,” Rubio said.
But what does ‘evaluating’ mean in a four-year term driven by protectionism, isolationism, and brute economic force?
Even the US Embassy’s tone in Kingston has hardened. Once a hub of diplomacy, it now feels more like a watchtower – issuing warnings, not invitations.
So, where do we go from here?
We can’t win by reciprocating, and we won’t survive by silence either. We need to pivot, strategically and urgently. We have almost four more years of this. Here’s the starting point:
1. Diversify our trade partnerships: Jamaica must stop acting like the US is the only stop in town. We need to explore bilateral and regional opportunities in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. It must become a pillar of our survival strategy. Even at the risk of US retaliation.
2. Rebuild CARICOM with purpose: This is not the time for symbolic unity. We need joint purchasing agreements, shared shipping routes, and economic cooperation that strengthens us all. Let Jamaica lead, because, right now, given our dependence, we are one of the countries with the most to lose.
3. Strengthen local production: We must emancipate ourselves from being slaves to imports, especially things we can’t need or can product. With urgency, we must reinvent light manufacturing of the highest value products, and revolutionise the digital infrastructure. Producing what we consume is the minimum starting point.
This is not business as usual. The ground is shifting beneath our feet and these are only the foreshocks. The US has shown us exactly where it stands, and it is not beside us. Jamaica has always played the loyal role. We have given the US full diplomatic support, adopted their security protocols, embraced their cultural exports, and shaped our economic model to feed their consumption.
We have done the work while they enjoy the rewards. And, still, the US shows no mercy in this latest iteration of their global strategy. If we don’t read the signs, change course and fortify our own home, the next four years will be a wrecking ball of devastation.
