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Wednesday, November 04, 2020

Choice in US election could be far-reaching for The Bahamas, says economist

The eyes of the world, including many in The Bahamas, will likely be glued to the what transpires today during the US presidential election – the result of which could have a significant impact on the Bahamian economy, according to a local economist.

US President Donald Trump is seeking re-election in a closely contested race against former Vice President Joe Biden. The issue at the forefront of this election has been the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Minister of State for Finance James Smith said while in the past the general view was that The Bahamas fared better under Republican leadership in the US, times have changed.

“Bahamians always felt that, in terms of the impact on The Bahamas’ public policy agenda, that the Republican agenda seemed to favor The Bahamas more. But I think that had to do with when we were an outstanding financial services sector and at the time we were hearing the drum beats from the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and Europe and they were not as strong coming from the United States,” Smith told Guardian Business.

“I believe that has changed now and our interest in the US outcome I think has a lot to do with the other sector, tourism, because we used to take it for granted before. And this time around we know for sure that unless the United States gets control of the pandemic, their economy won’t turn around. Consequently, on one hand visitors’ ability to travel in particular to The Bahamas would be constrained. On the other hand, the mere fact that the pandemic has all these health consequences, if The Bahamas doesn’t get control of its pandemic they still won’t come.

“And we do know that up to now the Trump administration has almost been in denial that the pandemic has negative effects, so clearly from a national point of view, in terms of getting our economy going again, you really would prefer and I think most Bahamians would prefer that the administration get really serious about controlling the pandemic, because if they don’t we have a very bleak future for our tourism.”

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell said though Bahamians generally follow US Presidential elections for entertainment, the impact of who is chosen can be far reaching.

“I think Bahamians are interested in what is happening next door just as they follow the football, basketball and basketball teams. The more studied view, however, is looking at what the policies will be toward the region,” he told Guardian Business.

“Will there be a reversal of the retreat from engagement with the world and a reassembling of the coalition of western democracies to maintain world peace and the economic order? Specifically one candidate has promised a lockdown of the United States to deal with the pandemic. The question is what will that mean for The Bahamas and is our government planning for that eventuality?”

While many questions will remain unanswered until the final ballot is counted, Smith added that Bahamians will at the very least enjoy the spectacle.

“Well to the extent that we have no control over the outcome, I think it’s only that we follow generally worldwide out of our interest in politics, but clearly we have little or no affect on the outcome, but it could be quite entertaining to just sit back and watch the numbers roll in,” he said.

The post Choice in US election could be far-reaching for The Bahamas, says economist appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.



source https://thenassauguardian.com/choice-in-us-election-could-be-far-reaching-for-the-bahamas-says-economist/

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