Be prepared for the next Trump surprise:
Look out for opportunities amid the doom and gloom:
Don’t panic, cling on to hope:
The slapping of a 44 percent proportionate tax beside the 10 percent universal tax on Sri Lanka by the United Sates is a wakeup call to implement the long overdue trade reforms, restrategise trade, diversify exports, seek new markets and build strong bridges, said panelists at a trade forum in Colombo last week.
The urgent need to build bridges for vibrant trade relations with the rest of the world instead of burning bridges and revisiting all trade policies to come up with a fresh approach to global trade in a world full of uncertainties was stressed by speakers at the “Understanding the New Impact of US New Import Tariffs: Challenges and Opportunities for Sri Lankan Exporters’ forum organised jointly by the Sri Lanka-USA Business Council and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
“There has been talk after talk and forum after forum on revisiting Sri Lanka’s trade policies until Trump woke the world with sweeping and devastating tariffs that took the trading world by surprise. At least it’s now high time to get polices in motion and prepare for the worse uncertainties in the future,” said KPMG Partner Kamaya Perera.
Panelists also highlighted that behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining for Sri Lanka which emerged from multiple crises in the past starting with a three-decade war, the tsunami, the Easter Sunday attacks, the global pandemic, the debt crisis and now the Trump Disorder.
“The doom and gloom scenario also has new opportunities for Sri Lanka to benefit from possible diversions of hard hit nations by the tariff to channel exports from other countries, and look at Sri Lanka as alternative market for global trade,” Perera said.
Resource personal at the discussion stressed on the need for Sri Lanka to engage in diplomatic negotiations with the US and all other trading partners, strengthen communication and collaborations, negotiate with suppliers on pricing, diversify export markets, create a conducive environment for investments and promote ethical branding.
“The key is negotiations, negotiations and negotiations with the US and other countries if Sri Lanka needs a better and strong deal to come out of the trade crisis,” said Advocata Institute CEO Dhananath Ferando.
Brandix Lanka Managing Director and Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer Hasitha Premaratne said that the good news is that amid all the uncertainty and apprehension there has not been a single cancellation of orders at least up to September and that buyers have not rushed to make harsh decision even though Trump keeps the whole world on pins.
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber Products, Pushpika Janadheera said there are opportunities for Sri Lanka to gain from the gloomy scenario and that we must be smart to capture them and engage in healthy negotiations to get the best deal out of them.
However, amid all the cautious optimism expressed by the panelists the gloomy picture resurfaced time and again during the discussion that what would happen if the period of uncertainty and apprehension continues beyond the 90-day pause and if Trump wakes up tomorrow and says nothing doing there is no change to the original stance on tariffs.
“How long could the waiting period last as uncertainty is playing havoc on all corporate and business world who just cannot plan anything and see a clear path,” said Kamaya Perera calling on the trading community not to panic but to cling on to hope for the right time and opportunity to emerge from all the chaos.
According to Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Harshana Suriyapperuma Sri Lanka is expecting a response from the US to the proposals it made in Washington last week.
