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Richard Pandohi, CEO of the Seprod Group, believes Jamaica manufacturers will be forced to seek new markets in response to the tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump.
Jamaica is among many countries, including those in CARICOM, that have been hit with a 10 per cent tariff on exports to the US.
There are concerns that Jamaican exports could become too expensive for its customers in the United States.
Pandohi, in an interview on Thursday with Radio Jamaica News, called for manufacturers to urgently seek a meeting with the government to plan their response strategies, "to mitigate the export risk and perhaps even find avenues for us to thrive in the changing global trade landscape."
Conceding that the 10 per cent tariff "is expected to increase the cost of our exported goods to the United States market," he noted that, "it's the same situation and even worse for other countries."
"It's not all risk; (there are) also opportunities," he said.
Patience
The Jamaican Government, in its first response to the announcement by Donald Trump, has appealed for patience as it seeks clarity on the new tariff regime.
In a post on X on Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade Senator Kamina Johnson Smith said the government was obtaining the requisite technical documentation to ensure accuracy of details and appropriate analysis.
"There are several documents in circulation and we want to be clear, so we will update the business community and the wider public, accordingly," she said.
The new tariffs, as announced by Trump, will go into effect on Saturday.
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