US reciprocal tariffs for Guyana reduced to 15%

The White House on Thursday evening announced that the 38 per cent reciprocal tariffs announced for Guyana in April has been reduced to 15 per cent.

This was confirmed by White House documentation released on Thursday.

In an invited comment Thursday evening, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said that the Government of Guyana is very pleased that there was a downward adjustment.

He added, however, Guyana is still hopeful for a further adjustment.

“We’re still engaged in talks and discussions, and we hope upon the completion of those discussions that we can get back down to the 10 per cent. But we’re pleased that there was a downward adjustment,” Jagdeo said.

Speaking on the issue on Thursday at his weekly press conference, the Vice President said that Guyana had submitted documents to the US Trade Representative’s Office regarding the tariffs and explained that the US authorities understood that the surplus is largely from oil exports.

“They know that it’s almost entirely from the export of oil into the US. So given that, I think we have they’ve approached this matter differently… Now, unlike with some other countries which I think they take a harder line, they understood that the [Guyana’s] surplus is as a result of the oil export, not any unfair currency practices or protective barriers in Guyana that have led to that situation which they accuse other countries of. So given that goodwill there and the understanding, I anticipate that we should have a favorable outcome,” Jagdeo told reporters at his press conference.