CTL Boss uncertain about price hikes amid US tariffs

The Managing Director of Clarence Thomas Ltd (CTL), Michael Thomas, has alerted consumers to anticipate increased prices on goods following the recent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Speaking with ZBVI Radio, Thomas emphasised that Caribbean nations, including the BVI, are set to experience economic shifts due to these tariffs.

These developments come in the wake of President Trump’s announcement on April 2, 2025, of a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the United States, with significantly higher rates for specific countries, including a cumulative 54% tariff on Chinese goods. This move has sparked global economic concerns, with analysts warning of potential recessions and increased consumer costs worldwide.

Thomas said he has been in discussions with suppliers who predict no significant changes for the next three weeks. However, he expressed concern over the taxation of shipping companies operating Chinese vessels through US ports. The US administration has mandated that these vessels pay a $1 million fee to access their ports. Thomas noted that Tropical Shipping, a longstanding service provider to the region and the BVI, will likely face increased freight charges.

“And those costs will be passed back on to the consumers. And that’s the one thing I want everybody to understand. We’re doing what we can. I’m not going to go about increasing prices or stuff like that in the inventory. But any product that’s coming in new for sure, and we move quite a bit of containers in every year, those numbers will be affected in some way, shape or form once the prices start going up,” Thomas said.

When asked about potential measures to mitigate the impact on consumers, Thomas indicated that price adjustments are inevitable once costs rise. He explained that CTL only alters prices when their purchasing costs change and the anticipated increase in freight charges will necessitate price hikes.

“No, I think that’s just going to happen automatically once the numbers start changing. We’ve never changed our prices at CTL unless our actual buying prices change,” Thomas added.

Thomas estimated that it currently costs around $5,000 to $6,000 to ship a 40-foot container, depending on volume and pricing agreements. However, proposed tariffs could add another $2,000 to $3,000 per container, potentially raising the total shipping cost to about $9,000. This would significantly increase the freight portion of the container’s value—from a previous 5–10 per cent to as much as 20–30 per cent—costs that would ultimately have to be passed on to consumers.

“Yeah, I’m saying in the next probably two, within the next month, month and a half, we don’t know. And, you know, that’s kind of what my vendors are telling me, you know, like guys, all soon as it’s going to take effect, all soon as we see the changes, we’re right now we got inventory, we can’t tell you what’s going to happen in the next few months. So you’re going to have to give this thing a chance to kind of like settle in and see exactly what happens.” he said.