U.S. President’s new global tariffs will hurt, but no major impact anticipated for Jamaica – BOJ Governor Richard Byles

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) says it does not anticipate any major impact from United States President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs.

The tariffs have come into effect at 10%, despite a pledge to introduce them at a higher rate.

After the U.S. Supreme Court blocked many of Trump’s sweeping import taxes on Friday, the President said he would introduce a 10% global rate. He then said on Saturday that the rate would be 15%.

However, according to official documents, the tariffs have been set at the lower rate from Tuesday, with no directive to increase the rate issued.

The White House is reportedly working to update the rate to 15% to reflect Trump’s announcement.

This has created some uncertainty – an issue, which was brought to the fore at the BOJ’s Quarterly Monetary Policy press briefing in Kingston yesterday.

In addressing the concern, Governor Richard Byles noted that while the tariffs will hurt, Jamaica is not expected to be seriously impacted, especially since tourism is what he calls the nation’s major export service.