The change in US tariff rates does not pose any losses for the Maldives, says the Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed.
The Trump Administration has announced its stringent tariff hikes on imports; with a massive percentile bump Chinese products that make their way into the States. Earlier, the Trump Administration announced it would be bumping tariffs on Chinese imports up to 145% – a move that has been significantly criticized by the opposition and other industry experts, who all opine this could trigger a tariff war between the two economic giants.
China had since retaliated with a 125% tariff hike on US imports to the country.
During a press briefing at the President’s Office on Monday, while answering to a question raised by Sun Online’s reporter about the US tariff hike, Saeed said this posed no threat to the Maldives. The tariff rate for Maldives imports to the States would be at 10%, which the minister said is the lowest tariff bracket.
The Maldives exports canned and processed fish products to the States. Saeed said the tariff rates for the Maldives on their export products is below their competitors.
While speaking at this press briefing, Saeed said the Maldives was in need of exploring more markets to exports it products to drive up its revenues – which he added was the cause for the Maldives government’s decision to enter into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China along with a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with the Turkish government.
US President Donald J. Trump declared the tariff bump on Maldivian imports to the States at a rate of 10% earlier on April 3, 2025. He had announced that a baseline 10% would be levied on all the import countries that were not flagged by the US.