Gov’t to update public on new US tariff regime after analysis – Johnson Smith

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Kamina Johnson Smith indicated that the local business community and wider public can expect further updates on the implications of the new 10 per cent tariffs imposed by the United States on exports from Jamaica. 

Johnson Smith, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday stated that the government is currently obtaining the requisite technical documentation to ensure accuracy of details and appropriate analysis.

“The Government of Jamaica has taken note of the new tariff regime announced yesterday by the President of the United States of America. We are obtaining the requisite technical documentation to ensure accuracy of details and appropriate analysis,” she wrote.

“Please be assured that we appreciate the public’s need for further information and clarity and will update the business community and the wider public accordingly,” added Johnson Smith.

The tariffs, which were announced on April 2, 2025, are part of a broader move by the US to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries that tax US imports. 

The 10 per cent tariff applies to goods entering the US market from several other Caribbean nations, including Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Haiti, Grenada and The Bahamas. 

In unveiling the sweeping reciprocal measures in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump has described the move as part of a broader effort to correct what he called unfair trade practices.

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” President Trump declared, adding “This is Liberation Day.”

Some economists are already predicting that tariffs could have significant implications for Jamaica and other Caribbean nations, which rely heavily on trade with the US. 

Outside of the Caribbean, the European Union, China and Japan have been slapped with tariffs on their goods entering the North American country of 20 per cent, 34 per cent, and 24 per cent, respectively.