CANARI Policy Brief No. 31: Navigating the new tariff and immigration regimes in the Caribbean

The year 2025 is marked by a convergence of geopolitical factors that have greatly heightened uncertainty in Caribbean economies. These include the restructuring of global trade relations, reduction of development assistance flows, increase of expenditure on weapons production to support wars, reduction of immigration opportunities for countries in the Global South, and reduced efforts by the Global North to mitigate climate change and manage
its impact.

This conjuncture was triggered by a radical transformation of United States (US) domestic and foreign policy introduced by newly inaugurated President Donald Trump in January 2025. Among many early executive actions was the announcement on April 2 of a raft of tariffs on goods imported into the US. The new tariffs are likely to spur inflationary forces in the US economy, which may ultimately mean higher prices for overseas imports from and through the US as well as weakened demand by American citizens for Caribbean exports and vacations.

Read full policy brief here.