CARICOM should be united in response to Trump tariffs – Julian Robinson.
Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson is urging Caricom to maintain a united front in any negotiation with the United States regarding the tariffs imposed on member states.
Jamaica is among several countries including those in CARICOM, that have been hit with a 10 per cent tariff on exports to the US.
Mr Robinson, speaking Monday on Radio Jamaica’s Beyond the Headlines, said Caricom should find common ground as it approaches the Trump administration about the tariffs.
While conceding that it can be “tempting for individual countries to go and seek to negotiate arrangements,” he referenced the call for unity by Mia Mottley, CARICOM Chair and Prime Minister of Barbados, adding that “if the US picks off one or two territories and seeks specific arrangements… I don’t think that’s going to be in the best interest of the region.”
He conceded that, with Guyana (34%) and Trinidad & Tobago (12%) having been levied higher rates than the rest of CARICOM (10%), “they may feel that they have a justification to seek an arrangement outside of what CACICOM will be negotiating.”
Fundamentally, however, he pressed the view that the region must act “in unity and develop a common position.”
Photo: Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson
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