Political commentator GHK Lall has criticised the 15% tariff imposed on Guyana under what he described as the “Trump Tariff Act,” questioning why the country is being treated on par with Venezuela despite its close ties to the United States.
Lall noted that while Guyana fared better than Brazil, China, India, and South Africa, it lagged behind smaller nations such as Bosnia, Guatemala, and the Falkland Islands. “I skimmed through the Caribbean Islands and Guyana has Trinidad and Tobago for company in the 15% bracket. This country is also lumped in the same 15% category as Venezuela. Don’t say! Yeah, but there it is,” he wrote.
Expressing disbelief, Lall remarked: “Sure, 15% beats 38%, but nah maan; dah stil caan bee. Donald Trump can be unsteady and uneven, but he knows the difference between Guyana and Venezuela. Chevron is over there; Exxon’s here. Who has the bigger voice, heavier weight?”
He argued that Guyana’s governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had maintained “the most well-behaved” relationship with Washington, with “no pushback, no bad behavior, no trouble,” yet was still hit with a 15% tariff. “After all the public subservience and self-humiliations, this is where the tariff road terminates,” he said, recalling the government’s full-page ads and expensive U.S. lobbying efforts.
“Trump is the best. Trump is good. Trump is god,” Lall wrote sarcastically, adding that the tariff is “the kick in the groin that this country got.” He even called on U.S. Ambassador to Guyana Nicole D. Theriot to “help with a little word or two of translation.”
The Private Sector Commission (PSC) recently applauded the reduction in the tariff from 38% to 15%, but lamented that it was not lowered further to 10%. Lall, however, challenged the wider private sector to speak out forcefully. “If there is a group of Guyanese that would feel the 15% lash, it is the private sector. Let’s hear it from those big, bad boys,” he urged, noting that Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo should also address the matter, especially given the risks to the non-oil economy if oil prices drop.
He concluded by warning that the tariff could dent global oil demand, which would be a “two-fisted wallop” for Guyana. “Once again, I am reminded about that big power axiom: interests take precedence over friends, even those supposedly partaking in a special relationship,” Lall said.
