Trump’s threats to National Sovereignty

On Wednesday April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump who seems to be increasingly living in his own fools’ paradise, announced a new round of tariffs in his incessant war on the rest of the world.

Seemingly aimed at China and insisting that these latest actions will benefit the US economy while being part of making America “great again”, the latest protective measures are, by the prognostications of economists far and wide, going to hurt the rest of the world and even the USA itself.

The effects of these ill-conceived actions are, according to most economists, going to cause major disruptions to the world economy triggering reactions and a trade war.

Especially vulnerable would be countries like ours in the Caribbean,dependent on trade and financial transactions with the US economy without the means for meaningful reaction.

CARICOM has, through the actions and statements of its current Chair, Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, already raised its concerns and stated its vulnerabilities.

So far there has been little indication that those hell-bent on measures to advance the narrow interests of the super-rich and imposing a new imperialist order, are listening. Indeed, the US media have quoted President Trump, when challenged about the effects of the trade and economic policies in creating massive unemployment and increasing the cost of living and poverty, as saying “I don’t care”.

The response from CARICOM has been a flurry of trade and economic meetings of officials. The competence to craft alternative responses certainly exists, but there is the intransigence of the imperial power and our own weakness, not only in economic terms but in the will to fight. Accompanying the trade and economic actions are bullying measures, the forced deportation of many Caribbean citizens in the USA, and the threat of the withholding of US visas, first to government officials, but clearly psychologically threatening Caribbean people locked in long historical ties with the USA.

Thus far, the political leadership in the region has been holding firm, but what of the people? It is one thing for our leaders to declare their willingness to give up their personal visas, if necessary, but are our people prepared for such a sacrifice? Or will we place pressure on our leaders to succumb to US demands to protect our “precious” visa access? We also have to be aware that the tariffs will result in higher prices for Vincentian consumers.

At the heart of all this, are two fundamental issues. One is the imperialist mindset as in the days of the Roman Empire, the British and other European colonial diktats which put the interests of their ruling classes above all else. The other is the crucial matter of the sovereignty of nations. For us in these small countries, locked into all kinds of relations with the USA, the matter of sovereignty is crucial.

It cannot escape our attention that President Trump is threatening to force Canada, the second largest country in the world, to become a vassal of the USA, the 51st state. He declared on March 26, in the case of the world’s largest island, Greenland, that:

“We need Greenland for national security and international security. So, we’ll, I think, go as far as we have to go”.

And there is Panama, invaded by the USA to kidnap its leader and forcibly extradite him to the USA in 1989.

Trump is now threatening to violate both Panama’s sovereignty and a legal treaty by “taking back” the Panama Canal.

So, what of Caricom? The US President has publicly said that in his crusade against China, nations must decide between “them or us”. Most Caribbean nations have diplomatic relations with China, SVG being an exception, and in terms of trade, China is as important as the USA. Where does that place us?

In addition, the USA is bent on weakening CARICOM, sowing discord between those it considers as like- minded to its administration and the others; bent on using issues like the Guyana/Venezuela border dispute and the excellent relations between CARICOM states and Cuba to divide us.

We cannot afford division. Our interests are at stake and we must defend them.