The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) is pushing for expanded international shipping routes and greater trade diversification as the country seeks to reduce its reliance on the US and limit the impact of global economic disruptions.

Don Williams, the Chamber’s chairman, said increased shipping links could provide Bahamian businesses with greater access to specialised products, shorter wait times and, ultimately, lower costs. He added that the Chamber is looking forward to seeing how additional shipping routes translate into lower costs and greater efficiencies throughout the economy.

The push for wider trade links comes as The Bahamas seeks to strengthen its commercial relationship with Canada while navigating growing uncertainty in global trade, including tensions between major economies and the impact of conflicts overseas.

Mr Williams said diversification was important to ensure Bahamian businesses and the wider community continue to have opportunities to expand and grow regardless of global disruptions.

“It's so important because The Bahamas is constantly diversifying,” he said. “We need to ensure that the opportunities are still available to Bahamian businesses, and the community be able to expand and to grow, no matter what type of global unrest or issues maybe we may be facing.”

Mr Williams said those disruptions could range from fuel and water issues to conflicts between countries, making it important for The Bahamas to have sufficient options to sustain itself and its products.

“We need to ensure that we have the ability to sustain ourselves, to sustain our products. As we know, tourism is our number one industry,” Mr Williams said. He added that greater access to international markets also gives the country more options when sourcing goods, and could help businesses obtain products at competitive prices.

“We're now able to consistently get the best products at the best rates possible, not just for Bahamians themselves but for, like I said, our tourism market, and it helps to boost our general economy,” said Mr Williams. “We always want to keep costs down, keep those margins great, but also not just to be competitive locally, but globally.”

At the same time, the Chamber is continuing discussions with the US over tariffs affecting Bahamian exports. Mr Williams said the Chamber has had “quite a bit of conversations” with the US Embassy and intends to continue those discussions, with the goal of having the tariff reduced to 10 percent or lower while also identifying additional opportunities for Bahamian businesses in the US market.

“Our goal is to get that tax reduced to 10 percent or even lower,” he said. Mr Williams added that one concern raised by the US relates to countries doing business with producers whose goods may be associated with child labour or enslaved labour.

He said the Chamber is working to ensure US officials understand The Bahamas is a transparent jurisdiction and carries out the necessary due diligence on its trading partners.

“So, their concern is obviously the country at large doing business with other countries that may be producing products with either child labour, or just they were considered enslaved labour,” Mr Williams said.

“So we were diligently getting them to understand that The Bahamas is a very transparent country, and the fact that we know who we're doing business with, and we do the necessary due diligence.”

The Chamber's push for broader trade links comes as it continues to encourage businesses and policymakers to look beyond traditional trading relationships and identify opportunities that can strengthen the domestic economy.