US presidential election result could have economic repercussions for Jamaica

 

Development Economist Sandre Rhoden says the results of Tuesday's presidential election in the United States could have economic repercussions for Jamaica.

 

Mr. Rhoden says tourism and remittances could be impacted positively or negatively based on the election campaign rhetoric on immigration by Republican candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris.

 

Speaking Monday on TVJ's Smile Jamaica, Mr. Rhoden said there are major implications coming out of the US elections. 

 

"I give you two figures, 20 per cent and 30 per cent. Thirty per cent of our GDP, tourism; about 20 per cent of our GDP roughly, remittances; 60 per cent of our remittances come from the US. And then 60 per cent of our visitors as well, roughly, come from the US.... When you look at those numbers that says not only that US and Jamaica, US is a major trading partner - I think about 42 per cent of our trade is with the US, $1.1 billion about that," he outlined. 

 

"You think about migration policies, major things that both candidates are campaigning on. Trump, more protectionist, Kamala has a little bit more of an open border policy," he added.   

 

Mr. Rhoden said there is a shift among black and Caribbean voters, including Jamaicans, who have indicated that they will be supporting the Republican party. 

 

The Democratic party, he noted, had in the past enjoyed greater buy-in from these voters.  

 

"But why did we buy in at first? [In] 2014 US President [Barack Obama] came. He invested a lot into the Caribbean, you know, aid, etc. So that was a major reason why there was buy-in. But now a little bit has changed. It's shifted because people are saying they don't see that type of support," the economist reasoned. 

 

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are pushing their closing messages to voters on the last day of campaigning before America decides its next president.

 

Both candidates are in a final sprint across key battleground states, with Ms. Harris to campaign in Pennsylvania on Monday and Mr. Trump heading to North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

 

On Sunday, the Democratic candidate vowed to do everything in her power to end the war in Gaza, while the Republican candidate made claims, without providing any evidence, of election fraud in Pennsylvania.

 

Mr. Trump also suggested at a rally he wouldn't mind if a potential assassin tried to shoot through the fake news. His campaign said the remark was misinterpreted.

 

More than 78 million people have already voted, with the polls suggesting the race is still exceptionally close.