business@tribunemedia.net
Thursday, June 25, 2026
$ 7.03
$ 6.93
$ 7.03
Exempt The Bahamas’ fisheries from 12.5% tariffs, Trump urged BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net US seafood importers are urging the Trump administration to exempt Bahamian lobster and stone crab from punitive 12.5 percent tariffs that threaten to place up to $70m of this nation’s exports at “an economic disadvantage” against rivals with “weaker labour protections”. Joshua Johnson, president and owner of West Palm Beach-based Johnson Seafood Company, yesterday warned the US Trade Representative’s Office that imposing trade taxes on Bahamian fisheries exports to the US will achieve the “exact opposite” of what its intended crackdown on forced labour practices is intended to achieve. Describing the Bahamian fisheries industry as the very model of “sustainability and ethical labour practices” that the Trump administration is pushing
US importer hails this nation’s seafood sector as model for ‘ethical labour practices’ Levies on Bahamian lobster, stone crab not ‘legitimate’ in combating forced labour Letter exposes ‘direct harm’ for multiple Bahamas fisheries MSMEs, $70m exports others to adopt, he wrote in a June 23, 2026, letter that “direct financial and economic harm” will be inflicted on both countries if it makes good on its threatened tariff implementation. Revealing that Johnson Seafood Company imports around 180,000 pounds of Bahamian fisheries products per season, Mr Johnson added that levying tariffs - a form of taxes imposed at the border on imports - will disrupt “mutually
DONALD TRUMP
beneficial long-term commercial relationships” that it has built with this nation’s suppliers including Boardwalk Seafood Distributors; Hook, Line and Sinker; G & L Seafood; Lightbourne Seafood. and Hurricane Seafood. And, asserting that the US Trade Representative’s Office’s proposed policy “serves no legitimate forced labour enforcement purpose in the case of Bahamian seafood”, the fisheries importer sought to strengthen his argument by pointing out that US consumers will be harmed by higher-priced lobster and stone crab for which there are no domestic substitutes. Mr Johnson’s letter confirms The Bahamas has American friends and partners who will advocate on its behalf to eliminate a major threat to this nation’s multi-million dollar goods
TAX - See Page B6
FNM Senator: Where’s the ‘Ministry of Debt’?
Gov’ts March surplus off $48m compared to 2025
BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
AN OPPOSITION senator, yesterday argued that the Government should formally recognise its largest financial burden by establishing a “Ministry of Debt”, adding that the 20262027 Budget prioritises balancing the books over delivering effective results that improve Bahamian lives. Rick Fox, speaking during the Senate’s 20262027 Budget debate, described the Davis administration’s plan as “a disciplined budget” that projects a primary surplus of around $633m and an overall surplus of $223m, while placing the national debt on a declining trajectory. However, he said: “Balancing the books is not the same as building a nation.” Mr Fox said the Budget succeeds as an accounting exercise but falls short as a blueprint for national
THE Government’s fiscal surplus for the key month of March 2026 shrank by 26.4 percent year-over-year, it was revealed yesterday, as revenues remained relatively flat while total spending jumped by $52.1m
RICK FOX transformation, arguing that government spending remains focused on inputs rather than outcomes. “This Budget gets the accounting right, but the ambition all wrong,” he said. “It is built to decline gracefully. It is not built to win.” Mr Fox repeatedly returned to what he described as an “excellence gap”, criticising the Budget for detailing how much government intends to spend while failing to specify what measurable improvements those expenditures are expected to produce.
BENCHMARK - See Page B9
LOT FOR SALE PARKING LOT ELIZABETH AVENUE New Providence
DESCRIPTION Large commercial lot in Downtown Nassau. Currently used as a parking lot with spaces for 100 cars. Continue with parking space rentals or develop to suit your commercial needs.
Contact info Mike N. Klonaris tel:+1-242-421-1244 mikek@nestseekers.com
compared to 2025 during the run-up to the May 12 general election. The Ministry of Finance’s report for March, which together with April typically generates the fiscal year’s biggest monthly surplus as it coincides with economic activity related to the peak winter tourism
FISCAL - See Page B9
$ 7.07
$ 7.34
Bahamian fund manager pledges Cayman wind-up ‘full co-operation’ BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN investment manager says its core business and longterm operations will not be impacted by court-supervised liquidation of its Cayman fund portfolio as it pledged “full-co-operation” to ensure an “orderly conclusion” to the winding-up. Holdun Family Office, which is located at the Albany Financial Centre, told Tribune Business via a series of written replies to this newspaper’s questions that it had elected to place the Holt Funds into liquidation, which is being handled by the KPMG accounting firm, in a bid to give investors the benefit of “an independent, regulated, transparent process” for returning investor monies now overseen by
Holdun Family O$ce says it drove liquidation process ‘Strongest framework to protect’ Holt Funds investors Funds hit by ‘market dislocation’ at time of FTX’s failure the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. The winding-up, which emerged when the KPMG liquidators sought Chapter 15 recognition in the US from the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, was said to have been sparked by fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in “market dislocation” that occurred in late 2022 and
SUPERVISE - See Page B7
National Trust faces $150m funding gap BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas National Trust (BNT) faces an annual $150m funding gap over what is needed to fully manage this nation’s marine protected areas (MPAs) and national parks, it was revealed yesterday. Lakeisha Anderson-Rolle, the Bahamas National Trust’s executive director, said this nation requires approximately $200m annually to properly manage these assets
but existing funding sources remain insufficient despite new conservation financing initiatives such as the $125m forecast to be generated by the Bahamas Debt Conversion Project "If you look at the protected area system holistically, it would cost about $200m to manage, and this is not inclusive of only the Bahamas National Trust sites under our portfolio but the entire network," she said. The Bahamas National Trust manages 33 national
CONSERVE - See Page B7