The Government of Guyana continues to suffocate its citizens under a regime of punishing import tariffs, bloated VAT, and burdensome income taxes, even as the country enjoys historic oil revenues and GDP growth. It’s a paradox only possible in a political culture where corruption trumps conscience.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently reignited global attention on the issue of trade imbalances, imposing a now delayed 38% tariff on Guyana due to what his government describes as ‘unfair trade practices’. Guyana, a country that imports a significant portion of its consumer goods from the United States, was targeted, and yet Guyana refuses to provide fair reciprocal market access, transparency, or tariff relief on US imports.
Despite the United States being Guyana’s number one import source and home to the largest Guyanese diaspora community, the PPP government continues to refuse to reduce or eliminate tariffs on essential U.S. imports—including food, medication, school supplies, and construction materials. These tariffs, layered on top of a 14% VAT, 33⅓% personal income tax, and a confusing web of license and processing fees, drive up the cost of living for everyday Guyanese, essentially taking away disposable income from Guyanese at a crucial time when the daily cost of living continues to increase significantly.
Guyana’s economy has expanded at double-digit rates for four straight years. The government touts oil production from ExxonMobil’s offshore wells as a national blessing. And yet, the Guyanese people, especially the working poor and middle class, have never felt more financially strangled.
Why are Guyanese still paying 40%–300% markups on imported American items, while the government racks up billions in oil royalties? Because in reality, the PPP government has weaponized tariffs and taxes as a tool of control. Revenue collected from customs, VAT, and duties feeds a bloated, patronage-driven state, where billion-dollar procurement contracts are doled out to friends, family, and favorites of the political elite.
The Auditor General’s reports, year after year, expose massive procurement irregularities, ghost payments, and overpricing schemes, yet no one is held accountable. When the state is captured by insiders, tax policy is no longer about funding schools or roads. It’s about recycling public funds into private bank accounts.
The irony is gut-wrenching. The Guyanese diaspora in the U.S. sends home over US$400 million in annual remittances, mostly in the form of cash and goods. Yet every barrel of clothes, every food box, every medical supply shipment from New York or Miami is met with steep duties and inflated valuation exercises at the port.
The government exploits diaspora love for family, taxing sentiment as revenue, rather than cultivating a partnership that could uplift communities. Diaspora entrepreneurs face endless red tape, high import costs, and an unpredictable business climate—deterring investment and growth.
With record oil revenues now exceeding US$1.6 billion annually, Guyana has no fiscal excuse for maintaining punishing tariffs on essential goods. The government must:
- Immediately reduce or eliminate import duties on U.S. goods, particularly essentials like food, medicines, IT equipment, school materials, and industrial tools.
- Modernize and digitize the customs valuation process, ending the culture of “arbitrary markups” and bribery at the port.
- Launch a diaspora trade partnership program that rewards, not punishes, remittance-backed imports and entrepreneurship.
- Reduce VAT on core consumer goods, to ease the daily burden of inflation and give Guyanese families breathing room.
The Ali-Jagdeo administration loves to speak of prosperity, but real prosperity starts at the port, when goods can move freely and affordably to those who need them most.
Should the Trump administration maintain its hard stance on Guyana’s trade barriers, the consequences would be devastating for local exporters who are all fidgiting anxiously, unable to speak out about the crippling tariffs policies enacted by the PPP government they overwhelmingly support. Should the 38% be fully enacted, then trade, remittances, and investment could be disrupted overnight.
The real threat isn’t Trump. It’s the PPP’s refusal to prioritize the economic dignity of its citizens over the enrichment of its insiders. Tariff justice isn’t a foreign policy issue. It’s a domestic survival issue. And the clock is ticking.
