Shania Shayal Prasad 
Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad cautioned that this is still speculative, as the US has granted a month-long grace period for Canada and Mexico to negotiate their trade terms.
It’s too early to predict the substantial effects of the recent US tariff announcements, however, it might not have a significant impact on the Fijian economy.
Instead, Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad says there is a possibility of Fiji benefiting from shifts in trade flows.
He says with US tariffs potentially making exports from China and Canada more expensive, countries like Fiji could see cheaper goods flowing through the Pacific as these nations look to offload excess capacity.
Prasad states that the tariffs, which include a 25% duty on steel, semiconductors, and cars, could disrupt global trade, but he assured the public that Fiji remains largely unaffected at this stage.
“And if major economies retaliate against US tariffs, we could see intensified trade tensions, could disrupt supply chains, capital outflow, volatility which may affect indirectly our economy.”
Prasad acknowledged that such tariffs often provoke strong reactions from businesses and countries, which could cause uncertainty, but stressed the importance of not creating negative expectations that may harm confidence in trade.
However, the Acting Prime Minister cautioned that this is still speculative, as the US has granted a month-long grace period for Canada and Mexico to negotiate their trade terms.
