Guyana slams BBC report linking US tariffs to China ties as “mischievous”

…says news agency’s use of local beekeeper as geopolitical analyst “irresponsible”

A recent report from BBC News that sought to question why Guyana was hit with 38 per cent reciprocal tariff by the United States (US) has been debunked by the Government of Guyana as ‘mischievous and irresponsible” after it linked the imposition of tariffs with Guyana/China relations.

The report in question, written by Gemma Handy and published on Monday, questioned whether Guyana’s close relationship with China, with whom the US is engaged in a trade standoff, was the reason for 38 per cent reciprocal tariffs being imposed on Guyanese goods imported by the US.
At the time the tariffs had been announced by US President Donald Trump, however, it had been pointed out that Guyana has a 76 per cent tariff on US imports.
According to the Government of Guyana in its response to the report, the reciprocal tariffs were calculated by dividing the US trade deficit with the target country by the total imports from the country, and then further dividing the figure by two.
“The methodology for calculating the reciprocal tariff was also very helpfully published on the website of the US Trade Representative. Here, again, it was very transparently indicated that the formula for determining the tariff applied to each country is based on the trade balance between the US and the country concerned, and that the formula does not include any variable to capture the relationship of the country concerned with any other country whatsoever,” the Government of Guyana pointed out.
The BBC report had relied on quotes supplied by professional local beekeeper Francis Bailey, whom the Government in its statement described as “an anti-Government social-media personality” whom the BBC seemingly anointed as a political commentator.
According to the Government, this particular report fell short of the usual high standards set by the BBC.
“The Government of Guyana considers that the baseless speculation contained in the aforementioned article by Gemma Handy is mischievous and irresponsible, it falls short of the BBC’s customary high standard of journalistic excellence, and it is particularly egregious given that the methodological basis for the tariff computation has been widely available in the public domain for weeks now, and has been published by the BBC News website itself nearly two weeks ago,” the Government of Guyana also said.
Guyana and China have historically shared strong relations. As a matter of fact, there has been growth in these bilateral ties in several fields, including trade, which saw a whopping 31 per cent increase to reach US$800 million in the first half of 2024.
The Guyana Government has meanwhile already been engaging the US to ensure that trade relations remain favourable, not just between the two countries, but the wider Caribbean region. As far back as in February, this position had been articulated by Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo amid plans by the US Government to impose tariffs on imports from several countries, including Canada, Mexico and China.
In light of this potential tightening of global trade, Jagdeo had told reporters at one of his press conferences that the Government is paying attention to the issue, which could see the potential tightening of global trade.
While the US Government has gone ahead with its implementation of a 10 per cent tariff on imports from China, there has been a 30-day delay on the 25 per cent tariff to be imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico. This latter move had brought some level of relief, but this was short-lived after President Trump threatened to hit more countries with similar tariffs.

Most exciting places
It was only last month that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Guyana, during which he hailed Guyana as one of the most exciting places in the world, emphasizing its potential for transformational growth and reaffirming the US’ commitment to supporting its future.
According to Rubio, this transformation will not only bring prosperity for the country, but also the lives of children and future generations, which he says will look completely different in five to 10 years’ time under current leadership.
The United States has long been Guyana’s largest trading partner, with accumulated trade of more than US$3.9 billion recorded in 2022. In fact, the US is ranked as Guyana’s number one export and import destination, with export and import relations pegged at some US$2.7 billion and US$1.2 billion respectively in 2022. And in 2023, US-Guyana trade exceeded US$4.6 billion.