Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley has called for regional states to work together amid the global trade war between Europe, China, the US, Canada and Mexico.

Mottley has also begun championing a ‘buy local, buy regional’ campaign as the apparent global trade war shows no signs of easing.

She further warned that this trade war will have a major spillover effect on the regional tourism sector and affect people’s ability to travel. The Caribbean is home to some of the world’s most tourism-dependent economies.

In a statement issued Friday, April 4, the prime minister called on the regional private sector and the tourism sector to work with governments to collaborate on an immediate tourism strategy.

“To our hoteliers, our supermarkets and our people, my message is the same. Buy local, and buy regional. I repeat, buy local and buy regional. The products are better, fresher and more competitive in many instances. If we work together and strengthen our own, we can ride through this crisis. We may have to confront issues of logistics and movement of goods, but we can do that too.”

She noted that heavily import-reliant Caribbean economies will face serious economic damage from the crisis and, therefore, need to be strategic in how they navigate this period.

“If Europe and China and the US and Canada and Mexico are all putting tariffs on each other, that is going to disrupt supply chains; that is going to raise the cost of producing everything, from the food you eat to the clothes on your back to the phone in your pocket to the car you drive down the road to the spare parts that you need for critical infrastructure. That means higher prices for all of us to pay, and sadly, yes, this will impact all of us, regardless of what any of our Caribbean governments will do.”

Mottley emphasised that no one will be spared while stating that all states need to work together, especially at this time, and that fighting for political gain will not serve any purpose. Instead, she said the region needed to redouble efforts to invest in Caribbean agricultural production and light manufacturing.

“We must grow our own and produce our own as much as possible. We can all make the decision to buy healthy foods at the market instead of processed foods at the supermarket.”

“We need to be able to sell our Caribbean goods to a wider, more stable global market… If we come together, put any divisions aside, and support our small businesses and small producers, we will come out of this stronger.”