Guyana says new US ‘forced labour tariff’ will not burden Guyanese exporters

Last Updated on Friday, 24 July 2026, 10:45 by Denis Chabrol

Guyanese exporters will not be disadvantaged by the United States (US) 12.5 percent tariff aimed at punishing 60 countries that still buy products made by forced labour, but will lobby for its removal.

“This measure does not represent a new or additional burden on Guyanese exporters. It replaces the 10% global tariff that expired under Section 122 of the Trade Act on July 24 and follows a broader trajectory–a 38% rate announced in April 2025, down to 15%, and now to 12.5%,” Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud said in a statement.

At the same time, he says Guyana will be pursuing an exemption from these replacement tariffs even while government continues to focus finalising an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade that reflects the strength and maturity of the US-Guyana relationship. “We are confident this process will continue on the basis of facts, mutual respect, and shared interest,” Mr Persaud said.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday said Guyana would be among several others that would have to pay the 12.5 percent tariff on a range of goods if they are to be allowed entry into the American market. Demerara Waves Online News was told that the tariff does not apply to Guyana’s oil and gold exports.

Mr Persaud on Friday maintained that Guyana was “not aware of evidence demonstrating that goods produced through forced labour are being manufactured in, imported into, or exported from Guyana.”

The Guyana Foreign Secretary said his country was not singled out by the US, but strongly indicated that it was the Donald Trump administration’s way of getting around a US Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that limits executive tariff authority. “It is not a judgment on Guyana, and Guyana was neither singled out nor treated differently from dozens of other economies navigating the same recalibration.

In fact, he said16 countries will face continued investigations, of which Guyana is not a part. Mr Persaud also stated that  the tariff applies to 60 U.S. trading partners across every region of the world, such as Canada, the European Union, Trinidad and Tobago, India, and Venezuela, among others. ” It is important that this action be understood in its proper context. It arises from a domestic US legal and policy process, following the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year on the limits of executive tariff authority,” he said.

Mr Persaud assured that Guyana remained firmly committed to its partnership with the United States. He said Guyana government officials continue to work closely with USTR and other US counterparts, most recently through direct engagement at the July hearings, which Guyana voluntarily availed itself to reinforce its position.

During the USTR’s hearing, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sharon Roopchand-Edwards told a United States Trade Representative (USTR) public hearing that allegations of forced labor must be addressed through lawful, evidence-based investigations.

“To date, the Government of Guyana is not aware of evidence demonstrating that goods produced through forced labour are being manufactured in, imported into, or exported from Guyana,” she said, according to a transcript of her contributions to the July 7 to 9 hearing.

She backed up her position with statistics from the Ministry of Labour showing that as of June 2026, more than 2,000 inspections across economic sectors were conducted without finding substantiated evidence of forced labor.

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), she said, was similarly unaware of imports produced through forced labor entering Guyana.

Where credible evidence exists, she said, Guyana’s Customs Act provides authority to prohibit the importations of goods. “When it is conclusively determined that imported goods were produced using forced labour, the responsible minister has powers to prohibit importation,” she said.