—VP Jagdeo says

Guyana is ready to present the facts to its long-standing ally, the United States (U.S.), in light of the current tariff pause, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has disclosed.

He said this to reporters during a press conference today.

The Vice President said: “So we still believe that it is true engagement with the United States of America that we have [to do to] resolve this matter, and that will be the approach. We have all the facts ready to present.”

Despite the Opposition and other voices having a hostile approach to this matter, Jagdeo countered that this is not the way that Guyana will act.

He underscored that there should be no behavior that is antagonistic.

“President Trump has announced that the reciprocal tax has been put on hold for 90 days, so that every country in the world now would pay the 10% across the board tariff… The United States of America [now] is prepared to have discussions with countries about the reciprocal acts, and that 75 countries have already reached out to the United States of America to address the question of the reciprocal tariffs.

“We’re one of those countries,” the Vice President said.

President Donald Trump has announced a 90-day pause for countries hit by higher US tariffs, but a trade war with China has escalated.

In a dramatic change of policy, just hours after levies against roughly 60 of America’s trading partners kicked in, Trump said he was authorising a universal “lowered reciprocal tariff of 10%” as negotiations continued.

Jagdeo once again noted that the tariff announcement does not come as a surprise since President Trump had spoken extensively about trade during his election campaign, highlighting how he planned to use it as a vehicle to rebalance trade between his country and the rest of the world.

He also stated that the Guyana government is meeting with domestic exporters and, once again, urged for there to be no panic.