Ease of doing business
theboardiQ Tariffs Dashboard:
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Understand the complexities of international tariffs and ease of doing business across nations to cultivate balanced trade relationships, streamline operations, and deliver cost savings to end consumers.
Implications
As of January 2026, the trade landscape between the US and the Bahamas is navigating a period of significant "tariff talk" and policy shifts. While the Bahamas often benefits from a stable relationship, new general tariff proposals have introduced fresh variables for Bahamian exporters.
Latest US Tariffs Update (Bahamas Focus)
While the Bahamas is not the primary target of US trade disputes, it is susceptible to broad-based "reciprocal" or baseline tariffs.
Reciprocal Baseline Tariffs: The US administration has proposed or threatened a baseline reciprocal tariff of 10% to 20% on all imports.
Targeted Goods: Recent warnings from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) highlight that if a 10% tariff is fully enforced, it would primarily hit the Bahamas' physical goods exports—specifically crawfish (lobster) and salt.
De Minimis Changes: The US has suspended certain de minimis exemptions, which may affect small-scale Bahamian e-commerce and boutique exporters who previously shipped duty-free under the $800 threshold.
Major Companies Impacted
The impact is felt most acutely by companies reliant on high-volume logistics and specific Bahamian exports:
Morton Salt: Operates one of the largest solar salt facilities in the world at Inagua; new tariffs on salt would directly increase their US landing costs.
Bahamian Lobster Exporters: Local fisheries (often supplying US restaurant chains like Red Lobster or luxury food distributors) face an estimated $15.9m to $49.2m potential hit from a 10% tariff pass-through.
Cruise Lines (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney): While tariffs target goods, the indirect impact of reduced US consumer confidence and higher fuel costs (due to energy-related trade tensions) affects the "stopover" and "cruise" segments, which are the lifeblood of these companies' Bahamian private island operations.
Economic Metrics (GDP & Balance of Trade)
The Bahamian economy remains highly sensitive to US economic health due to its fixed 1:1 currency peg.
Metric | 2026 Forecast / YTD Status |
Real GDP Growth | Projected at 1.8% to 2.1%; growth is moderating as post-pandemic "catch-up" tourism levels out. |
GDP Impact (Tariffs) | Tariffs on goods could drag down export earnings by up to 16% for the physical goods sector, though goods are a small portion of total GDP compared to services. |
Balance of Trade (BOT) | The US maintains a significant surplus (approx. $3.8B). The Bahamas imports 80–90% of its food and fuel from the US. |
Current Account | Expected to remain in deficit (approx. -6.8% of GDP) as the country continues to import high-value materials for infrastructure projects. |
SWOT Analysis: Bahamas Economy 2026
Strengths | Weaknesses |
* Fixed Exchange Rate: 1:1 peg with USD provides monetary stability. | * Lack of Diversification: 90% of GDP is service-based (Tourism/Finance). |
* Proximity: Significant logistics advantage for US-bound exports. | * Import Dependency: High vulnerability to US inflation (food/fuel). |
* Stable Democracy: Low political risk compared to regional peers. | * High Debt: Debt-to-GDP remains elevated (approx. 71-73%). |
Opportunities | Threats |
* Energy Reform: Transitions to solar/LNG to reduce the high cost of doing business. | * US Tariff Shifts: New duties on crawfish and salt could gut key local industries. |
* Maritime Services: Leveraging "ShipX" and transshipment hubs like Freeport. | * Climate Change: Vulnerability to hurricanes remains a systemic threat. |
* Digital Assets: Continued growth as a hub for fintech and regulated digital services. | * US Recession: Any sharp US deceleration immediately halts tourism arrivals. |
US Revised Tariffs
Country Tariffs
Balance of Trade
Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in countries, prepared by U.S. Embassies worldwide, Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Tariff Rate for US
World Bank staff estimates using the World Integrated Trade Solution system, based on tariff data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's Trade Analysis and Information System ( TRAINS ) database and global imports data from the United Nations Statistics Division's Comtrade database.
US Imports Guide
United States Imports from Countries during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. United States Imports from Countries- data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on April of 2025.
Investing in USA
theboardiQ Economic Relevance Score, ranks States of USA based on 11 parameters
Sources : Forbes | USDA Economic Research | TCGen Total Innovation Rank Index | Best States for Manufacturing | World Population Review | Tax Foundation | US News | BEA Data | Wikipedia | International Trade Administration
theboardiQ's Economic Relevance Score provides a comprehensive, data-driven assessment of a nation's economic vitality and global significance. This score is meticulously calculated using 11 key parameters, each reflecting a critical facet of economic performance. It analyzes the representation of Fortune 500 companies within a nation, a strong indicator of its business environment and market size. The balance of trade surplus or deficit reveals the nation's international competitiveness and export strength. It incorporates Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a fundamental measure of overall economic output, and examine the health of key sectors like agriculture and manufacturing. The score also accounts for innovation, gauging a nation's ability to drive future growth through technological advancements. Crucial labor market indicators such as employment rates are considered, alongside fiscal policies reflected in tax rates. To capture the lived experience of citizens, it assesses cost of living and disposable income, providing insight into purchasing power and economic well-being. Finally, education levels are integrated, recognizing their pivotal role in fostering a skilled workforce and driving long-term economic development. By synthesizing these 11 parameters, theboardiQ's Economic Relevance Score delivers a nuanced and holistic view of a nation's economic standing, enabling informed strategic decisions. The Top 5 States in the assessment are Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Washington. Texas does consistently well across most of the 11 variables especially in the areas of GDP, F500 representation in the State, Balance of Trade where it ranks 2nd nationally. North Carolina scores as the highest-ranking state nationally in manufacturing and performs consistently across the other variables. Virginia does well in disposable income where it ranks 3rd nationally. It also scores high in the variables of manufacturing and employment Florida holds the 4th ranking nationally for GDP and Tax Washington State scores the top spot for disposable income nationally, 2nd for education and 3rd for innovation. Colorado, with an overall rank of 7 scores the top spot for Education (schools and higher education). Nebraska, that ranked 10th overall, did well in Agriculture where it is ranked 3rd nationally as well as Trade Balance where it ranked 5th. Illinois, though ranked 20th overall did well nationally in F500 representation, GDP, Agriculture, and Disposable Income. Pennsylvania comes in at 21 overall doing well nationally in GDP (6th); Manufacturing (8th) and F500 representation (8th) New York scores 23rd overall with a 2 ranking in Disposable Income nationally, as well as 3rd in both F500 representation and GDP. California comes in at 29th overall and has the top spot ranking in a whopping 4 variables nationally – GDP, Innovation, Agriculture and F500 representation. However, performance in the areas of Trade Balance, Cost of Living, Tax, Manufacturing and Employment resulted in the overall ranking dipping. Wyoming at 30th overall scores the top spot nationally in the area of Tax Massachusetts at 31 overall does well in innovation where it is ranked 2nd nationally Arkansas at 36 and Alabama at 39, do well in overall Cost of Living where they are ranked 2nd and 3rd nationally, respectively. Louisiana ranked 44th overall is ranked 1st in Trade Balance nationally.
Economic
Relevance
Ranking
State | Info | Overall Rank | Agri | Innov | Mfg | Employ | Tax | Edu | GDP | F500 Rep | Trade Balance | Cost of Living | Disp Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Texas | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 13 | |
North Carolina | 2 | 9 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 28 | 11 | 16 | 41 | 17 | 17 | |
Virginia | 3 | 32 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 28 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 34 | 35 | 3 | |
Florida | 4 | 21 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 7 | 40 | 30 | 37 | |
Washington | 5 | 16 | 3 | 36 | 28 | 45 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 43 | 1 | |
Missouri | 6 | 11 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 13 | 32 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 10 | 20 | |
Georgia | 7 | 15 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 34 | 8 | 9 | 43 | 26 | 19 | |
Minnesota | 8 | 6 | 10 | 47 | 6 | 44 | 8 | 20 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 9 | |
Ohio | 9 | 12 | 32 | 7 | 30 | 35 | 36 | 7 | 5 | 38 | 15 | 11 | |
Illinois | 10 | 5 | 23 | 31 | 23 | 37 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 47 | 32 | 7 |