Cayman braces for impact of Trump’s tariff war
(CNS): The Cayman Islands hasn’t escaped the shots fired by the United States this week in President Donald Trump’s tariff war. Despite having a huge trade deficit in favour of the US, Cayman and a number of small islands, including some in the Antarctic with large populations of penguins but no people, have become targets for the tariffs that will come into effect tomorrow.
While the 10% tariff on the tiny amount of goods Cayman exports to the US will have little impact, the wider global tariffs will push up the cost of living here since more than 80% of the goods imported come via the US. Goods that originate in other countries will have tariffs applied and will, therefore, be more expensive.
Many residents already struggling with the rising cost of living may now find that even the basic necessities of life are unaffordable.
Although the US remains the largest economy in the history of the world, the Trump administration insists that it is “being treated unfairly” in the global marketplace. It is impossible to predict the outcome of the tariff war, which economists say makes no sense, or what Trump’s next move will be.
On Friday, Trump was already contradicting the official White House line when he told reporters on Air Force One that he is open to negotiations on reducing tariffs if countries make a “phenomenal” offer.
While the tariffs have not come as a surprise to anyone, dealing with them will be very difficult for the Cayman government. It has limited tools to manipulate the local economy and help alleviate the already crippling inflation here.
Some candidates on the campaign trail have talked about sourcing food from other jurisdictions, investing in backyard farming and cutting healthcare and CUC costs, which might alleviate the burden somewhat, but in the broader scheme of things, the cost of everything is going to go up again.
The tariffs will also increase the cost of doing business, which means that services as well as goods will cost more. The construction sector is expected to be the hardest hit of local sectors. The 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum will compound the already very high building costs, which will push up property prices in a market that is already beyond the reach of most Caymanians.
Higher tariffs on Chinese-built ships may also push up global shipping costs — another factor that could result in higher prices, given the jurisdiction’s dependence on cargo vessels to bring all necessary items, from air conditioners to vegetables.
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Category: Economy, Politics, USA, World News
There you go. . .perfect excuse for further gouging by local retailers! Watch the price of everything skyrocket, then watch the political candidates promise action and then do nothing.
This entire comment section is justification of just how ignorant the island really is. Your focus and hatred on one man or maga cult while your very own government has been scamming you for YEARS is ridiculous. The sad story on Cayman really hasn’t changed- high costs, poor education, environmental destruction, and what looks to be an increase in crime. Yet, there’s always time to ‘point the finger’ at the bad guy up North who’s tormenting your life.
Do yourself a favor and focus on any one of the hundred generational problems that exists in Cayman…for once.
Trust me, there is a long list that has nothing to do with anyone off the rock.
No doubt that cost of many goods in the Cayman Islands will increase due to Trump’s tariffs and extortionist port charges on Chinese made ships. However, Brac merchants are adding to the cost of goods in a way that makes Trump look like an upright guy.
Cayman Brac merchants are pulling one over on customers by deliberately failing to display prices on shelves, or on products. In an era where everything is scanned electronically, these shops have learned a dirty (and profitable) little trick: don’t label the price at all, or worse, label it falsely–and let the register do the scamming.
Let’s call this what it is: avaricious deception, plain and simple.
While shopping in Cayman Brac not long ago, I fell right into the trap of a very enterprising merchant. I picked up an item clearly marked a certain price. The rest of them were also marked with the same price. No shelf tag, no other prices in sight. At checkout, I had bought several items and really didn’t notice anything odd–that is until I got home and checked the receipt. The item rang up for almost a 100% price increase over what was market on the item! A “tariff” of about $10.
I have had this happen on several occasions on Cayman Brac, but usually the price difference is not so huge that I return the item or raise a ruckus. My bad! From now on, if it is even a penny difference, I will be asking for a refund or returning the item.
These crafty businesses are counting on one thing: that you are too distracted, too polite, or too rushed to catch them at their game. By avoiding item pricing or shelf pricing, or using vague or inconsistent labels, they ensure you can’t comparison shop or verify costs in real time. And if you do notice it later? Too bad. Most won’t give you a refund, or they’ll toss you store credit like it’s a favor.
While on the subject, if you shop Cayman Brac, be aware of one thing: the price on the same item in another store can vary by as much as 50%. And I have noticed that the highest priced market, is the one with the most items without prices. They are so ashamed of their prices they simply leave the prices off.
This is beyond being merely just lazy or sloppy—it is so pervasive that it must be calculated. This is systemic overcharging disguised as “Oops! Sorry!” It is an exploitative practice more like “Ha, ha! I ripped you off!”. A disgusting ploy designed to bleed every extra dollar out of customers who trust the conniving merchant and are silly enough to trust the prices they see.
It’s time to hold these devious and avaricious merchants accountable. Stop shopping at stores that don’t clearly and properly price their items. Or do not buy any items that do not have a price. Call them out publicly on social media. Raise a ruckus at the checkout and ask for the manager. If you get home and note the rip-off, call the manager and raise hell. Share your receipts. They will not stop ripping people off until we stop letting them.
Enough is enough.
Relevant FT story here:
“Singapore warns end of free trade era ‘very hostile’ for small nations
8 April 2025, https://www.ft.com/content/31dc3980-ef69-4046-a255-f9d6b67a36a2
Singapore fears tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump will trigger a global trade war that will be particularly damaging for trade-dependent small nations, the city-state’s foreign minister has said.
Vivian Balakrishnan told the Financial Times that while the 10 per cent duty Trump set for imports from Singapore was among the lowest in the Asia Pacific, the city-state’s role as an international financial and commercial hub made it highly vulnerable.
“Our greatest fear is that this set of announcements has shaken the foundational pillars of the world trading system right down to the core,” said Balakrishnan. “If that collapses and everything becomes an infinite series of bilaterals, it’s going to be very hostile for small nations. And especially small nations [that], like ours, are explicitly sensitive to global trade,” he said. “It is a global trade war that we are really afraid of.”
Balakrishnan’s comments came after Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told Singaporeans in a video address last week that Trump’s tariffs marked the end of the era of globalisation and free trade and the dawn of a period that would be “more arbitrary, protectionist and dangerous”. “We risk being squeezed out, marginalised and left behind,” Wong said.
Analysts have forecast that as the US becomes more protectionist, other countries will seek to tighten trading ties with China. Asked whether Beijing would emerge as a stronger player in global trade as a result, Balakrishnan said: “At a superficial level, the answer is probably yes.” But he added that China’s prospects were also heavily affected by its own economic problems, including stagnating domestic demand. “This global trade war could not have come at a worse time, both for China as well as all China’s partners, and that includes us,” he said.
Singapore’s role as an international financial and commercial hub, linking the west with China, makes its economy particularly sensitive to disruptions in global trade. The city-state’s trade is equivalent to more than three times its GDP. The US raised tariffs on Chinese imports to an average above 60 per cent last week, as part of a sweeping package covering more than 150 countries and territories. Beijing retaliated with its own additional tariff of 34 per cent on all US goods and a slew of other measures, including restrictions on rare earth exports and a probe of the China subsidiary of US chemicals giant DuPont.
Singapore has a delicate task in maintaining its close relations with both the US and China.
Mainland China is its biggest trading partner, with total goods trade worth $126bn last year, while the US is third behind Malaysia, worth $98bn. Singapore is one of the few countries where the US enjoys a trade surplus, valued at $30bn last year. Several of Singapore’s neighbours in south-east Asia were hit hard by Trump’s tariffs announcement last week, especially those where the US has a trade deficit. Countries such as Vietnam that have been big beneficiaries of the “China plus one” strategy in recent years — where they are used as export manufacturing bases — were worst affected.
Cambodia was hit with duties of 49 per cent, Vietnam 46 per cent, Thailand 36 per cent, Indonesia 32 per cent and Malaysia 24 per cent in a blow to Asian manufacturing. Over the weekend, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his country would use its position as chair of the Asean regional bloc to co-ordinate a response to the US aimed at limiting the damage. Balakrishnan said Singapore was less concerned about its own 10 per cent tariff than the rates imposed on its neighbours and trading partners, as well as the potential for sector-based tariffs to come.”
Hopefully the new Cayman government will scrap the Brac school, undo the money that the current lot squandered on e.g. COLA increases, and generally reverse course on undermining Cayman’s financial services sector, because we are utterly dependent on it, and taxing every aspect of it risks killing the golden goose.
It’s funny how CNS excludes the name of the island inhabited by penguins and the actual trade value, which, surprise, isn’t 0.00
Category Mach and Electricals: 1.4m 2022. I don’t think the Penguins were responsible for those trade figures!
Unless the tariff loophole is filled, as Trump did, it stands as a workaround!
CNS: Heard and McDonald Islands. The BBC article with the names was linked. You appear to remain in denial, however. No, the penguins weren’t responsible. Yes, the islands are uninhabited and don’t produce machinery or electrical products. Yes, it’s an embarrassing blunder by the Trump administration. If you don’t believe the BBC, here’s Business Matters:
“Trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on some of the world’s most remote and sparsely populated territories — including Australia’s Norfolk Island and the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands — appear to have been based on flawed shipping data and misclassified trade records.”
Freaked31, you’re a bootlicking bozo.
At CNS:
Well put!
At 11:14:
My question is: How can these tiny islands be used a “workaround”. That “workaround” excrement is an oft-parroted pile of putrid malarkey from the Trumpet’s coven to hide how big a fool their cult master is. However, no one has proposed exactly how this fabled workaround is supposed to operate.
I guess the WITS is biased, unlike the BBC! World International Trade Solution
Happy Trump day!
Why are people whinging about Trump? He’s the US’s problem. Our problem is with corrupt and incompetent CAYMANIAN politicians:
https://caymannewsservice.com/2025/04/pact-upm-gave-ci12-million-waivers-to-hotel-projects
In this context, criticism of Trump just seems to be a displacement exercise, to make people feel better about themselves – like primitive tribes pointing fingers at an eclipse, and making war chants and dancing around the fire, because they need to distract themselves from reality.
For a territory that imports almost everything, you can’t see how Trump has a massive influence here?
We can have terrible politicians here AND be upset about the Cheeto in chief.
@5:42:
Trump’s mindless tariff war with the world makes the Clown-in-Chief a problem for us as well.
His breathtakingly stupid tariffs and trade war will certainly make a vast array of goods more expensive here. Economic hardship will make travel a lower priority activity to those affected globally; thus impacting our tourist industry.
Moreover, the stock market blood bath the clown has caused wiped out well over $6 trillion from the U.S. stock market in just two days. Since Trump took office, the market has lost some #11 trillion in value. The global figure is on top of that. This will be reflected in a rollback in values of the various local pension funds that have investments in global securities, thus threatening the retirement income of our people.
At least you have the honesty to label the moron as a “problem”. Well put. If only the moron was a problem limited to just the U.S.A., that would be lovely. The Clown-in-Chief’s current reign is a global $hitshow and the excrement he flings flies all over the world.
Looks like that amazing Brac school just got a whole lot more expensive. Thanks, JuJu.
Trump is the downfall of America. He said that he does better and gets richer when the economy is bad, well…. he is making the economy bad for his gain. You must be stupid if you admire that con man.
I know this is going to sound very doom and gloom, but here’s the reality, politicians.
You want the Caymanian birth rate to go positive? Lol. This is why I rejoiced when my girlfriend finally got her period this month after being late after we had a little accident (on purpose) :-
“The 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum will compound the already very high building costs, which will push up property prices in a market that is already beyond the reach of most Caymanians.”
Too much info!
Lol it is what it is teedee
what a jackass
You can expect prices to go up 10 to 25%.
The people that will really suffer from that are the ones trying to survive on minimum wage of 6$ an hour.
Everybody agreed to raise this minimum, but ONE person blocked it from happening.
And now it is really needed.
Do we actually know that it was Jon Jon who blocked the minimum wage increase, or are we simply speculating?
look it up.
https://caymannewsservice.com/2024/07/conflicted-minister-seeks-minimum-wage-do-over/
To all of the above posters,
Trump is three months in, and you all think America has failed. You hated America before he was elected, and you will continue to hate America after he is gone. The core issue here is hate!
You’ll never say anything good comes from the USA, it hurts too much. You won’t watch non-biased news agencies, as it hurts too much.
You’ll still travel to Las Vegas, NYC, Miami, and others and keep your hatred inside as you enjoy the US economy. You buy its goods as you have to.
Most Americans know this, as they have listened to you for 80 years. Hence, Trump and his supporters have openly said…..go do it yourselves without America.
Here is your opportunity to do it all alone. Go for It and be happy!
sounds like you should move there. bye Felicia
Those that love America, ie the Freedom, Liberty, and Law that it stood for, those generations having bled in common belief over 249 years – mourn this loss of direction and principle. That’s the source of the disappointment that eludes your common sense.
Nothing promotes rule of law more than trying to jail your political opposition on bogus charges based on novel and exotic interpretations of law.
Nothing promotes liberty and freedom more than firing people because they don’t want to take an experimental “vaccine” and illegal government sponsored censorship laundered through social media.
Common sense is not instigating world war 3 with a nuclear armed country.
Your comment makes it very clear you don’t actually know the law, you’re just parroting right wing media when they say things are illegal or that laws are being twisted. After you take some time to study the law I would recommend history, specifically the early to mid 1900s. Some of it will start looking really familiar.
12:37:
No one has to hate the USA to believe that Donald J. Trump is a moron (and heinous liar to boot).
Since Inauguration Day 2025:
–The U.S. stock market has hemorrhaged value. Over $11 trillion has been wiped out in under three months.
–The S&P 500 has collapsed 14%, obliterating investor wealth and retirement savings.
–The Nasdaq suffered a historic 6% one-day crash on April 3, one of its worst days ever.
Trumpet’s reckless tariff decisions triggered a cataclysmic market collapse, wiping out a staggering $6.6 trillion in market value, in just two days. One of the largest declines in recent history
–Investors are fleeing American markets en masse, turning to foreign assets as a safer bet.
The takeaway: The “Trump Thump” is no longer a punchline–it’s an economic hemorrhage.
–GDP growth is on on life support.
–GDP growth has already slowed. Q4 2024 ended at 2.3%, down from 3.1%. Early projections going into Q2 2025 suggest a further slowdown or possible sharp contraction, as global capital retreats and domestic investment stalls in response to Trump’s chaotic tariff regime.
The takeaway: The engine of the American economy is sputtering under the weight of Trump’s nationalist bravado and breathtaking economic illiteracy.
Consumer sentiment has nosedived:
–The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell seven full points in February to 98.3, the sharpest drop in 3.5 years.
–Consumers cite fears over tariffs, job stability, and inflationary pressure as reasons for pulling back spending.
The takeaway: When Americans stop spending, the economy stops breathing. Trump has suffocated optimism.
Inflation:The Hidden Tax
–Core inflation (PCE) has surged to 2.5%, overshooting the Fed’s 2% target.
–Costs for essentials—food, energy, housing—are rising faster than wages, leaving real purchasing power in decline.
The takeaway:
Trump’s trade war is importing inflation while exporting economic pain.
In Summary:
Trump’s return to power has triggered:
–A record-setting $11 trillion in vanished stock value.
–A crippling blow to market stability and business investment.
–Policy even his people admit will lead to inflation amid a period of already sluggish growth.
–A nosedive in consumer morale, the very heart of the U.S. economy.
And it’s only been 11 weeks. The big question is: Can America survive 197 more weeks of Trump?
MAGA’s economic miracle? Thus far a delusion. The red hat brigade cheered at Trump’s DC parade–now they are beginning to march among the wreckage, wallets becoming lighter and futures becoming dimmer.
Americans have listened to Caymanians for the last 80 years?
please provide evidence, lol
now i know for sure you fall down from ya crib and the effects are now being seen @12:37
12:37 They hate this truth.
This is a long overdue reset, the United States has been bleeding out nearly a trillion dollars per year in trade deficits. Yes some of that money finds it’s way back to the USA but most of it never does. Completely unstainable. Add to that the USA now has a 37 Trillion dollar national debt.
The USA needs to bring back it’s industrial manufacturing base, that’s where the middle class was built, not the service industries. It’s not just an economic security issue, it’s also a national security issue. I reject the idea that those jobs are never coming back. Robotics and AI will take many of those jobs but new jobs creating and maintaining those systems will be created.
This is not a new idea either. You will find videos of Trump’s harshest critics advocating for tariffs going back decades including Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. This used to be an idea popular on the left. The sides have some how flip flopped.
The good news is Cayman doesn’t need to suffer tariffs for items imported to the USA and then exported here. There are things we can do to get around it, if the government and private business have the will and sense to do it. Buying things made in the USA will 100% avoid tariffs, but the most important thing we can do is establish better shipping routes with more service to Jamaica and direct shipments from Panama weekly. Those 2 things alone will nearly bypass all of the tariffs of concern. Anything made in Asia or anywhere else for that matter need not be bought from vendors in the USA who have imported it for export and resale to other countries. It’s unnecessary middleman purchasing to begin with and we should have been avoiding that anyway tariffs or no tariffs.
The post WW2 industrial era, especially the part that involves unions and humans, is in its closing chapters, along with it, the American auto industry. American business sought foreign labour markets and lower regulation for the last 40+ years, and that doesn’t come back. America put it there. Ironically, the eager young min wage workforce willing to earn-in to the American dream, previously invited under legit probation sponsorship programs are being turned around at the border and some of those that arrived earlier have been disappeared shackled to El Salvador without due process.
NAFTA was the final nail in the coffin.
Unfortunately the work ethic is not the same in the USA as it was I back in the 50s, also don’t forget the immigrant blue collar workers that might form the vanguard of the new proposed re industrialisation have been given the boot.
Rebooting industry on the scale and timeframe that Trump expects is absurdly unrealistic. And do you really believe the same products we enjoy from Asia are now going to be produced in the USA within the next decade and competitively priced as such to make still buying from China not more often? If so you are greener than the highest quality jade China purchases from Canada.
Countries will find ways around the USA, yet Trump is so naive to think he’s going to be raking in the tariff dollars until he doesn’t. Just like trade sanctions and embargoes, tariffs don’t work like how Trump is expecting. The only benefit to this scenario is that new economic partnerships will form leaving USA in the dust and further alienating their feeble economy which was highly dependent on the strength of foreign economies.
Finally the trillions ton weight hanging over Trump’s head is in fact the holder of USA dept, and that is trillion ton elephant in the ring of global economies, have you guessed it yet, well it’s China! If you think Trump is a disrupter with his tariffs what do you think will happen if China starts to really turn the screws on the USA and incrementally start to call in its dept? It’s belly for Trump and the USA economy and possibly worse economic disaster than the Great Depression.
My guess is you’re not a history buff but you might enlighten yourself how this might be less than happy days for this little fish pond.
Where can I research and learn more insight on topics like this, please? I want to educate myself on these types of things but I don’t know where to start. Any books, podcasts, or documentaries you would recommend?
World history & economics books are your friend. Google is also your friend if you know how to filter out the fake narrative the GOP is peddling.
Yes, don’t listen to the GOP, listen to the democrats. Here’s Nancy Pelosi democrat house representative and former speaker of the house from California promoting tariffs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAyricurDKg
Here’s democrat Chuck Schumer senator from New York and former Senate majority leader promoting tariffs.
https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-graham-urge-action-against-chinas-unfair-currency-manipulation
https://x.com/realannapaulina/status/1909315383728680987
Here’s Barack Obama stating the obvious, “We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants in this country.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7LGoHV3aKs
Don’t trust the left or the right. Don’t trust corporate or legacy media and always question everything. Question yourself. Go to the original source if you can and follow the money. Be aware of perverse incentives. We are living in mass propaganda. Good luck.
The USA outsourced it’s production to cheap labour in Asia, so did many European countries. I keep hearing people say it’s never coming back, we’ll see.
Illegal immigration isn’t the same as legal immigration, and the USA lets in more legal immigrants than any other country. That’s nearly 3 million per year and plenty to fill the workforce gaps. They’ll probably need to increase it.
Trump tariffs isn’t the only expense that will increase groceries and our cost of living!
All of CARICOM states will soon be charged ONE MILLION dollars for each cargo ship using Florida ports.
You thought the tariffs on Countries were bad, wait for the port fees. Prices will quadruple if not more.
Eggs will probably be $50 for half-dozen.
God help us all with this mad man in charge.
That port fee is proposed to apply to only ships built in China.
Oh, good, you mean it only applies to most of the cargo ships in operation right now. Great!
My family is low to middle income. We are not “bracing” for the impacts of the tariffs. Things have been screwed up here and overpriced for nearly a decade. That cost should be laid at the feet of our MPs, not the U.S. I have watched the entropy in the stores of things that were once available and no longer are.
When I was much younger, I had a cathartic moment when I realised that everything that happened to me was my responsibility. It wasn’t always my fault, but always my responsibility. After that I was truly free. We have to hold our MPs accountable. We elect them, and that is that last influence we are ever afforded. After that, they don’t care about what we think, because they don’t have to.
When times change enough that we have input, the the economy will change, and our lives will improve. Until then, it will be rinse and repeat.
And CIG throwing away money from our pockets, no reserves for its own people, not enough expletives!!
there is no debate about this.
every economist in the world says this is madness and will hurt america and everyone else.
trump is an idiot and so are his supporters… and no-one should be afraid to say this.
I am not. America has been a leach for the longest time and became a laughing stock of the world with a rare type of criminal elected by millions leading it to self destruction. Well, beat that.
“America is a leach”. Please elaborate. I’m sure you’re not saying that it takes more than it gives. So, what does leach mean to you?
at 2:04:
Trump is an idiot. That’s now a given. And he is a compulsive liar as well.
And while I deem all those who voted for him as being highly sus I would not call them all idiots. However, if today they still support Trump, I will agree: and so are his supporters, idiots all.
Why blame USA We need USA they don’t need us. We supposed to be British. why we don’t blame them, we
pays a British Governor
not a US Governor, So why we don’t blame UK for our problems instead of US. IF we was under USA things would be different. probably much better ?
Trump is taking the USA back to success for its people. Taxes will eventually go down and jobs will come back to help its people. foreign countries who we have helped in the past unfairly charge tariffs. It has been a long time since a business man Has taken the responsibility to become president. They are not looking for a bribe or fraud or stealing money from the systems that were created to help people.
Why didn’t the Democractic government who were in power not solved this? They have agreed in the past with everything Trump is doing now.
XXX
Why are you all listening to fake news supported by Communism and racists people? Do your research
https://youtu.be/cVuuzTJBE5Y Obama said the same thing ? Where is the protest ?
Can someone show this to Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Meryl Streep, and the rest of Hollywood?
Please do your research
We are doing the same thing with the cruise ship port. Research, research
WE DO NOT NEED A LOAN TO BUILD THE PIERS. THERE ARE 4 CRUISE LINES THAT WILL PUT UP THE MONEY. THEY WILL BE PAID BACK BY PORT FEES FROM GUESTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Speaking of research: Why not tell the rest of the story?
Here ya go…
Regarding the video to which you provided a link: in the November 2014 speech, Obama announced executive actions aimed at overhauling the U.S. immigration system. These measures included the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program, which would have granted deferred action status to certain undocumented immigrants who had resided in the U.S. since 2010 and had children who were either American citizens or lawful permanent residents. Under DAPA, eligible individuals could apply for three-year renewable work permits and would be exempt from deportation. Another key action was the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided temporary legal status to individuals who arrived in the U.S. as children. The expansion removed the age limit and extended the arrival date cutoff from 2007 to 2010, potentially benefiting more individuals. These executive actions were introduced after Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
Contrary to your ignorant suggestion that there was no opposition to Obama’s initiatives, the initiatives faced significant challenges including legal ones from conservatives. Several states filed lawsuits, arguing that DAPA violated the Constitution and federal statutes. After a prolonged legal battle, in June 2017, the Trump administration announced the rescission of the DAPA order.
The expanded DACA program also faced steep partisan opposition. In the end, the original DACA program continued until September 2017, when it was rescinded by the Trump administration.
The primary obstacle came from the legal challenges filed by conservative-led states and Republican lawmakers. In addition to the legal challenges, Congressional Republicans were staunchly opposed to the immigration reforms proffered by Obama. They refused to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation and often criticized Obama’s approach as executive overreach. This opposition from conservatives in Congress, made it difficult for any legislative solution to move forward.
The takeaway is that the executive actions announced by Obama in November 2014 did not result in lasting immigration reform due to legal challenges, partisan resistance by Republicans and conservatives, and subsequent policy reversals led by Republicans.
And there you have…
The Rest of the Story.
Yes. Much of the problem was Obama.
at 5:18:
You did not finish the sentence.
Allow me to help ya out:
Much of the problem was Obama…could not achieve lasting immigration reform due to legal challenges, partisan resistance by Republicans and conservatives, and subsequent policy reversals led by Republicans, culminating in Trump rescinding the remaining parts of Obama’s initiatives on reform.
[There. Fixed it for ya.]
Nothing you said contradicted what Obama said.
Illegal immigration is illegal and Obama agreed by his own words. DACA without necessary protection would result in greater illegal immigration and another amnesty. Look at the past 4 years under Biden, millions crossed into the USA undocumented.
In 3 months Trump has dropped illegal border crossings by 95% without any border immigration reform or border legislation. Under conditions such as these immigration reform can be put back on the table but not under literal invasion conditions. That’s just common sense. I can only imagine what you must think of immigration policy here in Cayman.
And here is the other part of the story. When Obama took office in 2009, the 111th congress was composed of a House controlled by 59% Dems and 59 Dem Senate seats. Obama could have passed anything reasonable even if 100% of Republicans opposed it. Yet he didn’t. Still must be the Republicans fault.
I don’t know what video you watched, but the one you linked has nothing to do with tariffs. Are you just assuming that no one will follow your link?
Go back to America
You mean this highly successful ‘business man’ ? 🙄
https://theticker.org/15337/opinions/donald-trumps-failed-business-ventures-indicate-lack-of-economic-knowledge/
Trump had over 500 businesses a few failed. It happens when you take risks. Hard to fathom when you’ve never signed the front side of a payroll cheque, I know.
https://www.ibtimes.com/list-businesses-owned-donald-trump-hotels-golf-courses-resorts-more-3637538
Many casinos failed in Atlantic City around the same time. Not just Trumps.
65% of all businesses fail within 10 years. https://www.commerceinstitute.com/business-failure-rate/
Mark Cuban, Jeff Bezos, Henry Ford and many more all had business failures with far fewer attempts. You might even know a few people around you who tried and failed. Nobody is perfect unless perfectly lucky in business.
On that basis, Trumps business success rate is actually stellar at over 90%.
at 9:30:
And therein lies the problem. Trump is a businessman and cannot switch off that mode in favour of being a statesman. Trump is also a compulsive liar, but let’s leave the latter aside for now.
Anyone who thinks a government should be run like a business isn’t just naive–they are catastrophically ignorant. The sheer stupidity of conflating the two is mind-boggling. A business exists to extract profit and create the highest returns for investors, often at the expense of anything resembling ethics, sustainability, or social good. It is greed-driven, polished and packaged for maximum appeal to avaricious tastes. Government, by contrast, exists to serve people, not shareholders. The objective of good governance is to build infrastructure, ensure justice for all, educate citizens, safeguard the vulnerable. Equating those missions is like confusing a surgeon with a loan shark hit man because they both deal with blood and guts.
You have actually made a brutally perfect case for why the idiocy of shifting gears to run government like a business needs to meet its end: “65% of businesses fail within 10 years.” That’s not a model for governing a nation. You have not made a point–you’ve issued a warning.
If Trump’s beloved 1st-term barometer of economic success (the stock market) is an accurate measure, Trump is already sinking the ship. Two days after his tariff tantrum, over $6 trillion in stock value evaporated. Since taking office, he’s managed to light the fires to torch $11 trillion. That’s not leadership. That’s malpractice on a national scale. Any CEO of a corporation who caused a market dive that abrupt and that deep would be voted out onto the streets pronto.
Moreover, no CEO in which shareholders have a vote to emplace the CEO would be put into the job if a majority of ordinary shareholder votes went against him. By that very sound “business” metric, Trump would never have had a first term, much less be indulging in sweet wet dreams about a third term.
Feel better?
The comment above simply debunks the previous comment regarding Trump’s business success.
Business doesn’t serve people..lol
Politicians and their political appointees are ethical and morally righteous? Strange how rich many politicians get while “serving” for a modest salary. The examples are plentiful.
Who said government should be run EXACTLY like business? NOBODY! Captain strawman.
Maybe you think it’s ok if government spends money foolishly while racking up massive debts.
Do you think government has any duty whatsoever to be efficient and spend money wisely, you know like a business must necessarily do?
I don’t know who you are doing business with but I find the vast majority of businesses I work with to be fair and morally responsible and if they aren’t I go elsewhere. Can’t do that with gov entities. Businesses that do not follow a strict moral code and service to their customers are more often not strictly regulated by the government. You know, like banks, pensions, insurance and healthcare.
How many MAGAS does it take to screw in a light bulb ?
None, Trump tells them he’s done it and they all stand there applauding in the dark.
You are one of those “useful idiots” Lenin was reputed to have spoken about, 1:57. What a pair Laura Loony…oops Loomer…and you would make.
Communists lol
Then how will those fees which government has been receiving be replaced..?
Government uses the cruise passenger income it currently receives to spend on roads, schools, Health services, and other services it provides. Where will that money come from if it is used to repay the massive loan…?
was this a bot or did someone just put the prompt “give me the most unhinge and brain rotting comment possible” into chatgpt as a troll?
Isn’t he doing literally exactly what cayman does tho?
No. The Trumpet did it citing an imbalance of trade and to remedy other countries “ripping off” America. The Liar-in-Chief insists that “they” (exporting countries) are paying “us” (USA) the U.S. tariffs. Even going so far as to quite falsely claim, on one of his moronic excrement spews on “X”, that China is paying the USA tariffs directly into the US Treasury. The “they are paying us” the tariffs lie is one of the deceitful clown’s most persistent and oft quoted lies. It is the American IMPORTER who pays the USA tariffs, not the exporter. Either Trumpet is blatantly ignorant of how import duties work in America, or he is a compulsive liar. Pick one. Either of which make him unsuitable for his job.
Trumpet’s USA has income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, inheritance taxes, gift taxes, payroll taxes (FICA), Federal Unemployment Tax, communications and environmental taxes. The U.S. income tax structure contains myriad carefully crafted loopholes that benefit the wealthy at the expense of the working man. The Cayman Islands has no taxes on any type of income. One of our significant generators of revenue is import duties. Import duties are a central pillar of government financing in the Cayman Islands; not so for the USA.
Implying that the Cayman Islands is doing the “exactly” as the Trumpet is doing manifests a breathtaking ignorance of the facts.
This is a silly comparison, because we don’t have typical taxation, whereas Americans do. Those charges stack. Surely you know all this already though, and you’re just trying to be antagonistic.
Strange thought pattern here. With this logic, the world should be outraged any time the USA raises income tax rates, because in your scenario they are basically the same thing.
If you really think about it, it’s nobody’s business what the US gov decides regarding what taxes are imposed in the USA.
at 9:11:
Your argument totally overthrows Trump’s harebrained reason for raising tariffs. Trump rages about what other countries were levying in tariffs in their own countries. Now you are essentially saying that it is none of Trump’s or anyone else’s damn business what a country charges in tariffs. You blew Trump’s excremental argument all to hell. Could not have done better myself.
Thank you for your lovely cooperation!
I have said this before and I will say it again. Vegetables and fruit.can be grown in parts of the island. This is illustrated by our cayman Community Farm on Hirst Road. We have done it with little help from the CIG. Farmer Jay has not even bothered to pay us a visit.
CIG needs to support small farms by giving them grants.
In years gone by many Caymanians grew their own produce. We need go back to those times.
We have 3 choices here.
1. Grow our own
2. Buy only fruits and veg grown in the USA (no tariffs).
3. Buy fruits our veg from anywhere so long as they aren’t first imported to the USA.
Cayman Airways still runs air cargo facilities in Montego Bay and La Ceiba, but not at Tocumen in Panama…the direct flight has been running for years now without our government and the our airline understanding the trade and merchant opportunity with a breadbasket nation, and one of the largest duty free ports of the world. Crazy.
The problem often is people’s mentality. They can have bananas grow in their yard but they will still go to buy some at supermarket because it’s from foreign so must be good. Cayman can have so much produce grown but seems like Cayman is too self important to do so.
Chis is right unfortunately a lot of what used to be great farmland is now paved over
We don’t necessarily need farmland. We can import from regional neighbours we already fly to, and grow fresh leafy greens, herbs, and veg in containers.
OfReg/CUC should NOT be colluding to block solar power for vertical farms
Also start with Cooperative farming and go back to the old days of provisional and backyard farming. This method is cheaper, healthier, and more sustainable. Thanks Chris for all that you do with the Community Farm, please have a shareable link so readers can donate and learn more about this great initiative
Charge Americans an extra fee to enter the country via air or sea.
Deport the Americans that are here on work permit.
This is ridiculous.
Great idea. Its not like US financial instutions and residents account for literally tens of percent of our GDP via tourism, real estate and financial services.
Please don’t punish us for our President. Please know a lot of us did not vote for him and are 100% against what he is doing. He is causing so much damage to our economy, our retirement funds, our jobs, healthcare and also to our allies/ worldwide.
What an inane reaction.
Oh yeah, like the $18.29 we pay in Pakistan taxes?
Flying to Canada? yeah…that is going to flop in the medium term. What CIG needs to do is negotiate a bond for bail outs. Those Canadian banks are in deep trouble
Oh my, now we have to all endure the panic of the Liberal Europeans and the Canadians.
You are spot on, but very few will do the research to know what you are talking about.
“The U.S. domestic shrimp industry has been on a downward trajectory for decades now as a direct result of the unfair trade in the overseas aquaculture industry for growing shrimp overseas,” Bosarge said. “And these tariffs threw us a lifeline that we needed to hopefully live to fight another day in our industry in this country.”
The domestic shrimp industry in the Gulf and South Atlantic has seen the value of the shrimp it catches drop significantly, with NOAA Fisheries data showing it has gone from $522 million in 2021 to $269 million in 2023, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance, a trade organization representing shrimp fishermen, processors and other stakeholders from eight states.
at 3:56 pm:
Thus, the sensible thing to do is to target shrimp imports for increased duties. Use a precision approach, not the mindless Trump flamethrower approach of burning down everything in sight.
Expecting Trump to do something sensible is like expecting an ape to recite Shakespeare.
the bigger concern will be when prices dont come back down after the tariffs end or change. we all know how prices go, always rise immediately but shrink extremely slowly.
trump…proof that not everyone deserves a vote.
democracy died with his first election.
The word “Democracy” is being overused, misused and abused. Actual democracy does not exist! If is just a concept
• the result of elections matters least
• elite and interest groups ALWAYS and EVERYWHERE make a substantial impact on government’ policies
There is no such thing as democracy
American “democracy” was killed when Citizens United was passed into law. This bill made corporations people and it is why billionaires from both parties control the country.
Elon used 270 million dollars to elect trump and be placed into his position of power.
America is an oligarchy.
Zuckerberg got Biden elected pumping in 400 million.
But, yeah it’s a great way to keep the illusion of democracy.
at 5:49:
If “democracy” is just a concept, then you have essentially argued against your own moot.
The term “democracy” as commonly used in America and countries with representative governance structures, is just not some vague idea. It is a specific concept and use of the word has evolved to express a specific concept as being one that reflects a system where the people have a say in their governance. When people use the word “democracy”, they are validating the existence of this system. Whether the system works perfectly or not is another discussion entirely.
Your argument does not hold up. You cannot claim democracy is just a concept and then turn around and say it does not exist. The concept is everywhere: it is used by countless people in countless contexts. The problem is not the word or the concept; it is how well the system functions to further the concept the people hold.
If you want to make a valid point rather than offer nonsense, try something like this: “The modern concept of democracy is distorted by the overreach of special interest groups.” That would be a relevant argument. As it stands, your comment just does not make sense.
Not really.
shun trump supporters….don’t do business with them…don’t socialise with them…. until they admit their mistake.
but fools never admit their mistakes.
How tolerant and open-minded…
Truth = Trump supporters are complicit in what is happening; he’s there because of them. Just like MacBeater’s supporters are complicit in him remaining in CIG. It all comes back to the responsibility of the electorate.
Veritas……sound like you’re in panic mode.
If his tariffs don’t work, you’ll still find something to rage about.
According to the VIX at close of Friday’s trading day (over +50), aversion to Trumpet’s chaos has gripped the American investor psyche as well.
Give it time: when Trumpet’s mindlessly stupid application of tariffs causes real pain to the MAGA consumer, they will jump Trumpet’s MAGA ship like rats. The midterms will become a bloodbath for Trump and his coven.
Exactly!
We’re getting most of what we voted for. I’m pretty happy.
what a ridiculous immature comment/ stance. Try growing up and acting like an adult.
at 6:14 pm:
That is a fitting comment to apply to many if not most of The Trumpet’s infantile rants.
Sounds like another mental illness. Maybe speak to your doctor and change your SSRIs.
Yes please do that. Then watch as your proven wrong again and again as you never admit you mistakes.
Anything from his supporters here in Cayman? Ready to pay more?
they quiet for now…but will never admit trump is wrong.
classic cult and one of the worst scams in history.
what exactly am i paying more for? my weekly groceries are made in america – maybe if i was building a house or something, i may have problems but I am quite confident in the long term plan – during COVID, it became obvious how much the USA relies on world trade and i believe its better that the USA can be independent – I also see the benefits of this long term to the overall prosperity of the usa – I am absolutely fine with it – couldnt be happier – Trump is doing everything that I voted for, everything he said he was going to – this is what i voted for
Obviously too numb & thick to feel the noose tightening around your neck😉
An enthusiastic enjoyer of boot leather.
Another idiot for tRump.
Then you should go live in the States of America whoever you may be.
The world will find a way. Can’t wait till you get everything you voted for.
” everything he said he was going to”?
You mean like:
>Mexico will pay for the wall
>I will repeal and replace Obamacare
>A five-year ban on lobbying for former government officials.
>Investing $550 billion in infrastructure
>Label China a currency manipulator
>I will end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours after becoming president
>Achieving a 3.5% economic growth per year.
>Simplify the tax code by reducing individual income tax brackets from seven to three
>Abolish gun-free zones in schools and military bases
>Create a national concealed carry permit that would be valid in all 50 states
>Terminate all funding for sanctuary cities
>Impose term limits on members of Congress
>Achieve complete independence from foreign oil
Need more failed Trump promises? I have more if you’d like to emerge from your Trump cult bubble and face the truth.
Yes, if it means rebooting the world’s largest economy to be more efficient and productive. Which will trickle down to the Caribbean tourism market very quickly.
Yes, that trickle will become a drip and then completely dry up soon. You must believe the earth is flat too. Poor you.
Guys you can’t turn back the clock, manufacturing has moved on. You want to build microwaves in the US be ready for a unit to cost $500 no $100, you want clothing to be made in the US be ready to pay $80 a T-shirt, the economics just didn’t work to manufacture low price items in a developed country unless the consumer pays way more. These tariffs have been seemingly calculated on the back of a napkin with min thinking. Trumps a joke the world sees him as an idiot no no worse he’s a puppet for people that really don’t care about us ‘normal’ people.
Hmm… a two minute google search shows half a dozen made in America t-shirts for $10 to $16. But hey, keep talking bullshit.
Ok fair enough and I can get I primark one in the uk for $1 so my statement stands
Naive thinking. Factories don’t start up overnight. It takes years.
Hopefully that orange idiot and his stooge elon are slapped down by judges.
Another idiot for tRump. You should go live in the States of America.
The U.S. leads as #1 in global purchasing power, not because of raw productivity or efficiency, but because: The world runs on dollars; Oil, debt, and trade are priced in USD. This gives the U.S. the ability to print what everyone else needs
Take that away? Then it’s not just a symbolic dethroning; it brings about a real shift in who can buy the world. Trump is hastening that shift.
Many powerful countries and trading blocs in the world are tired of kowtowing to the whims of the USA and are actively seeking to dethrone the dollar as the global trading and reserve currency. Trump’s chaotic antics are making that dethroning even more urgent in the minds of the world.
America’s global purchasing power is inextricably tied to the USD’s status as the world’s reserve currency. If the dollar were dethroned, much of the U.S.’s over-inflated global economic leverage would sink fast.
Trump is seeking a national economic reset. What he is fomenting is a global economic revolution.
What happen when the USD loses reserve status?
–U.S. Global Purchasing Power Shrinks.
–Imports become more expensive: U.S. would have to exchange into stronger currencies.
–Debt servicing rises: Global holders might dump U.S. bonds, demanding higher yields.
–Vastly less demand for USD assets weakens the US dollar, reducing global influence.
The multi-polar currency shift is already quietly underway. Countries have been actively seeking alternatives to the American dollar:
–China pushing the digital yuan.
–BRICS has been making plans for a shared currency or trade bloc settlement mechanism.
–Euro, gold, and CBDCs are gaining ground as partial hedges.
In the immensely important global petroleum trade that shift has already been in motion for a while and is gaining momentum. The Middle East, particularly Gulf states, and increasingly the Global South, are actively seeking to move away from the U.S. dollar for trade, especially in energy markets, which is huge, since oil has long been priced almost exclusively in dollars (the “petrodollar” system).
Key initiatives to move away form the US Dollar:
–Saudi Arabia, the anchor of the petrodollar, is now open to settling oil trades in yuan, euro, and even rupees.
–As of 2024, Saudi Arabia and China have completed multiple crude oil deals in yuan via the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange.
–The pending oil deals between Canada and China will not be using U.S. dollars for settlement.
–UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait are also planning to initiate non-dollar trade settlements, especially with China and India.
OPEC+ members like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela have been locked out of dollar-based finance and have pivoted to alternative systems: Gold, barter, digital currencies, and bilateral swaps. Rather than getting them to come to their knees and lick American boots, the lockout fron the US dollar have forced them to be pioneers in paths away from the US$.
–Iraq and Iran recently agreed to settle trade in local currencies and dinars instead of dollars.
–BRICS+ expansion includes energy-heavyweights like: Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE. These nations are key to creating a non-dollar trade bloc and one with real power due to their energy leverage.
–The Digital Yuan (e-CNY) is now actively used in cross-border energy payments with Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian partners.
–UAE and China piloted a CBDC-based trade settlement system under mBridge with Hong Kong and Thailand.
The USD petrodollar era is not dead yet, but its grip is now continually weakening. It is CTD (Circling the Drain) as triage assessors dub terminally injured victims. As oil continues flowing in non-dollar denominations, global demand for USD declines. As energy settles in multiple currencies, global U.S. purchasing power disperses and America’s ability to buy the world by printing dollars declines.
If the USD loses reserve dominance:
–U.S. drops in real global purchasing power.
–It opens the way for another trading bloc to overtake, especially in resource acquisition and global infrastructure.
America’s economic lead is now quite fragile and is fraying by the day. Trump’s heavy handed move on tariffs is making the world even more resolute to move away from the US dollar.
The takeaway:
Trump is the hammer for the nails in the coffin in which the US Dollar dominance–and America’s global bullying power–will be buried. For that, the world can thank Trump.
If I had a dollar for each time I heard the dollar was going to fail over the past 10 years, I’d pay your tariffs for you.
@ 10:23:
This is not about the dollar “failing: it is about the very real moves that are underway, globally, to replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve/trade currency.
Your ignorance in regard to how reserve currency dynamics actually works is very apparent. Just because a currency falls from being a foreign reserve currency does not mean that it has “failed”. It means it faced insurmountable macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds and was replaced.
Some history for you:
From the early 1800s until World War II, the British pound sterling served as the world’s primary reserve and trade currency. Britain’s vast colonial empire, industrial might, and a solid commitment to the gold standard helped solidify the pound’s international role. London became the center of global finance, and sterling reserves were held widely by governments and banks. However, World War I began the erosion of British financial supremacy. Massive debt, the suspension of the gold standard, and economic stagnation weakened confidence in the pound. The final blow came with World War II, after which Britain was heavily in debt and the pound began to lose its lustre.
The U.S. dollar finally overtook the pound as the world’s dominant reserve currency with the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944. The U.S. emerged from World War II with a strong economy, vast gold reserves, and unmatched industrial capacity. Under Bretton Woods, the dollar was pegged to gold at $35 per ounce, and other currencies were pegged to the dollar, creating a U.S.dollar-centric system. The dollar has since remained the world’s primary reserve and trade currency, despite the end of the gold standard in 1971. No currency has yet displaced it; however, growing global distrust in the U.S. dollar, as well as a global loathing for America’s financial coercion and economic bullying has sounded the drums whose beat gives cadence to the increasingly rapid march away from the U.S. Dollar and toward alternatives.
This isn’t collapse. It is very health and much needed transition.
lets start flying Cayman Airways to other cities in Canada to take advantage of the lack of interest in Canadians wishing to visit the 3rd world of the USA. Also, we should get Foster’s to order more from Waitrose and other non US supplies. PLEASE!
hello 157
How about getting Cayman Airways to stop being subsidized by Government that is all borrowed money!! Get your financial house in order first before dumping ON and trashing America!!
Another idiot for tRump.
Then you should go live in the States of America whoever you may be.
Truth hurts huh?
It must be so hard to realize that your vote assisted in the demise of the US.
SHAME on you!
11:17, you’re so funny and naive.
and you my friend are a “Trumpanzee”
at 3:03 pm:
GAME ON!
We will stop subsidising CAL when The Trumpet stops direct subsidies to all America’s businesses.
Speaking of “borrowed money”: borrowed money is what keeps America afloat. Seems that America needs to get get its financial house in order. As of March 5, 2025, the United States federal debt stood at approximately $36,000,000,000,000. (Thirty-Six TRILLION Dollars).
and Trump caused that in 7 weeks right?
at 6:10:
Did I say or even imply that it was all caused by the Moron-in-Chief in seven weeks? Or is that your silly ASSumption?
More on the Trumpet:
In an interview with The Washington Post on 31 March 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump arrogantly promised to eliminate the national debt within eight years, boasting about his “debt elimination skills.” At the time, the national debt was already a staggering $19 trillion. But of course, like the purveyor of excrement Trump is, he quickly realized the absurdity of such a claim and, in a pathetic backpedal, he later told Fortune he only aimed to reduce a “chunk” of the debt–without any specifics, naturally.
The economy, however, was less gullible than his supporters: Trump’s empty promises were exposed as just that–empty. Under Trump’s leadership, the national debt exploded by nearly $3 trillion as of early 2019.
Fast forward to last week, where Trumpet’s reckless tariff decisions triggered a cataclysmic two-day market collapse, wiping out a staggering $6.6 trillion in market value. It stands as one of the largest such declines in recent history–a monumental disaster, directly linked to Trumpet and his unhinged policies.
The bigger picture:
Since Trump’s inauguration in 2025, stock market losses have piled up to a jaw-dropping $11 trillion.
MAGA disciples are about to come to the realisation that no amount of silly red hats can shield them from the consequences of Trump’s mindless actions. The reckoning will be painful.
7 tillion is on Obamas head
sounds like you would prefer being an American, you can move their anytime.