Click to view full size

Se­nior Mul­ti­me­dia Jour­nal­ist

Econ­o­mist Dr Vaalmik­ki Ar­joon says T&T could main­tain rel­a­tive­ly stronger ac­cess to the US mar­ket com­pared to oth­er coun­tries now fac­ing high­er im­port du­ties, de­spite the new 15 per cent tar­iff set to take ef­fect on Thurs­day.

The rate for T&T is far low­er than those im­posed on some economies — Brazil (50 per cent), South Africa (30 per cent) and Sri Lan­ka (20 per cent) — which, Ar­joon said, could al­low T&T to cap­ture mar­ket share from high­er-tar­iff com­peti­tors. Guyana and Venezuela will al­so face a 15 per cent tar­iff.