Govt engages local exporters on US tariff shift, eyes direct talks with Trump’s Administration

As the United States (US) moves to impose sweeping new reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, the Government of Guyana has engaged local private sector exporters, with Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo leading high-level talks on Monday aimed at preserving the country’s export competitiveness in the American market.

Meeting with key players from the private sector, Jagdeo outlined the background of the new US tariff regime, including the mechanism used to calculate the tariff and which goods may qualify for exemptions. The meeting, held amid growing concerns among regional exporters, marks the Government’s first formal consultative step in responding to the tariff challenge.
As a result, the meeting included representation from the Private Sector Commission (PSC), the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), and the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA).
Additionally, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh and Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha were in attendance, underlining the cross-sectoral approach being taken to mitigate potential impacts on trade, agriculture, and manufacturing.
According to a public statement issued by the VP, discussions focused on practical steps to sustain export volumes, improve competitiveness, and identify tariff-resilient product categories.
“He also conveyed that the Government of Guyana is very pleased that President Trump has expressed interest in engaging countries directly on this matter. The Guyanese Government is actively pursuing this option, given the strong relationship between Guyana and the United States,” a post on the VP’s social media page stated.
“Nevertheless, the Government remains committed to working closely with the local private sector to ensure their continued competitiveness in the US market. Several ideas were discussed in this context,” it added.
Guyana is one of the Caribbean and South American nations under the new US tariff structure, facing a reciprocal tariff rate of 38 per cent—a figure reportedly linked to discrepancies in trade data between the two nations.
In a recent press conference, VP Jagdeo pointed out that US import records may overstate Guyana’s trade surplus, particularly due to crude oil exports managed by US-based companies like ExxonMobil and Hess.
“There is no need to panic or to get shrilled about this issue,” Jagdeo said to Guyanese exporters at a recent press conference.
According to the VP, the Guyana Government will engage the US to show that there was no built-in discrimination to US products coming here.
“We do not put high tariffs or non-tariff barriers to US exports. So, we’re looking forward to having that engaging with the US Government. I want to assure all of our exporters that we’ll work with them. As we learn more of the issue, we will be meeting with them, working with them to ensure that they can continue to access the US market,” the VP added.
Further, Jagdeo noted that the Guyana Government will continue to support the business community to ensure that the welfare associated with the loss of economic output, such as jobs, are not affected.
The US’s reciprocal tariff, which President Donald Trump has placed on a 90-day pause, carries exemptions on certain products including the top three commodities that Guyana exports to the North American nation.
Based on an Annex to the Executive Order signed by President Trump, instituting various percentages of tariffs for countries around the world, petroleum crude, aluminium ore and gold are exempted.
According to the VP, these are the highest exports to the US, with figures from 2024 showing that crude export totalled US$3.1 billion, aluminium US$36.9 million and gold US$16.6 million.

Other major exports to the North American country are fish at US$19 million, molasses, sugar and honey at US$8.7 million, alcoholic beverages at US$6.5 million, measuring/checking instruments at US$5 million, and fish at US$3.1 million.
Room for discussion
Against this backdrop, the Vice President believes that there is room to work with the US Government on the reciprocal tariff.
“From what we looked at and all we have read, it seems as though all of the countries that have higher reciprocal tariffs, are countries exporting more to the US than they are importing,” he explained.
However, VP Bharrat Jagdeo highlighted that, reports from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade) — which are compiled from data submitted by individual countries — reveal discrepancies between the figures reported by the United States and those recorded by Guyana.
In 2024, Guyana reported that it exported US$3.3 billion in products to the US while importing US$2.56 billion, leading to a surplus of $799 million. But the US report to UN Comtrade shows that Guyana exported US$5.5 billion in products to the US and imported only US$1.3 billion, leading to a surplus of over US$4 billion.
According to the VP, based on calculations, this excessive trade surplus, which has only been in recent years, was used to calculate the tariffs.
“Clearly, there is room for us to work with the US partners to clarify this information… We want to point out to the United States of America, because we have good import data, that we are importing much more from the [US] than what is reported by the US to the UN Comtrade system,” Jagdeo said.
The VP noted that a revision of these figures could lead to a “significant reduction” in the trade surplus. This could potentially see a reduction on the 38 per cent tariff instituted on Guyana’s exports to the US.