Caribbean Faces Economic Slowdown as IMF Cuts Growth Forecast

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting a significant slowdown on economies in the Caribbean for this year.  On a regional level, the IMF forecasts a four point two percent economic decline; a vast difference in last year’s 12 point one percent economic surge.  Earlier this month, the Fund published its World Economic Outlook Report that highlighted the effects of the global growth and its linkage to the rising tensions over United States implemented tariffs.  According to the IMF’s Chief Economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the global economic system that we have come to know over the past 80 years is being reset due to the historically high US tariff rates and an uncertainty that brews.  While a collective economic decline in anticipated, there are some countries expected to show a solid growth including Guyana with a forecast of just over ten percent growth.  The IMF issued a forecast for Belize of a 3 point 2 percent GDP growth.  Haiti ranked the lowest with a minus-one percent in projected economic growth.  The IMF Report further notes that in Latin America, the overall growth is also projected to slow to 2.0% in 2025 from a previously estimated 2.5%, with Mexico seeing a negative forecast of -0.26% next year.  It has warned the Caribbean that while the region is still projected to grow, countries must now navigate a more uncertain global environment shaped by geopolitical tensions and shifting trade dynamics.