March 23, 2025
Walking the tightrope
US leverage and the imperative of strategic diplomacy
Jamaica’s long-standing foreign policy of being “friends of all and enemies of none” faces a new kind of pressure, one sharpened by the re-election of President Donald Trump in the US and reinforced by his Administration’s growing assertiveness in the Caribbean.
With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio scheduled to visit Jamaica next week, it is increasingly clear that Washington is placing the region under closer diplomatic scrutiny. Rubio, known for his hawkish positions on China, Venezuela, and Cuba, represents the sharpened edge of a foreign policy apparatus that is looking for alignment and signalling the consequences of divergence.
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Jamaica now stands at a geopolitical crossroads, caught between growing opportunities through BRICS+ and China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and the formidable weight of US economic influence, trade levers, and financial oversight. The question is no longer whether we will be asked to choose, but how we navigate the space between these global poles.
This is not diplomacy as usual. It is a tightrope; one that requires Jamaica to balance sovereignty, economic resilience, and strategic foresight with calm, deliberate skill.
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As BRICS expands and China repositions its Belt and Road Initiative toward sustainable, digitally-driven development, new avenues are opening for small states like Jamaica to reimagine their trade and investment models. The BRICS+ alliance — now including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Argentina — has sent a clear message: A new trade order is emerging. These nations represent over 40 per cent of the global population and are actively collaborating on alternative financial systems, including digital currencies and trade settlements outside the US dollar.
Belt and Road 2.0, as it’s being called, shifts from mega-infrastructure to smarter, greener, and more strategic digital and logistics projects. For countries like Jamaica, this recalibration presents more accessible and relevant opportunities — smart ports, clean energy grids, fintech collaborations, and cultural diplomacy.
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Jamaica is well-positioned to benefit. Geographically, we are a natural bridge between the Americas and Africa. But more importantly, we are a cultural powerhouse. Our music, language, cuisine, and storytelling resonate far beyond our size. Yet our presence in BRICS+ markets remains limited. Millions of young, tech-native consumers in India, Brazil, South Africa, and the Middle East are increasingly interested in global South identities. Jamaica’s creative economy, if strategically elevated, could serve not just as a cultural export, but as a pillar of foreign exchange, soft power, and job creation.
To seize this opportunity we must reposition our creative industries as serious national assets. Cultural diplomacy and intellectual property reform should sit at the centre of Jamaica’s next wave of trade missions and bilateral talks. Entrepreneurs in music, fashion, wellness, and food should be as empowered to scale globally as firms in agriculture or tourism. The potential to diversify export earnings while deepening global influence is simply too great to overlook.
At the same time, we must be clear-eyed about the rising risks. President Trump’s Administration has reintroduced hard-line, transactional foreign policy, often wielding trade tariffs and financial mechanisms as tools of discipline. Secretary of State Rubio brings to the table a similarly assertive stance. His visit is not ceremonial; it is strategic. Under his leadership, the US State Department has already signalled that it expects its allies in the region to fall in line, particularly regarding China and its perceived encroachments.
Jamaica is not immune to this pressure. With more than 70 per cent of our tourists originating in the United States, heavy dependence on remittance flows via US-regulated financial institutions, and close banking sector ties, we remain deeply exposed to American leverage. The threat, spoken or implied, of travel advisories, increased financial compliance burdens, or even misclassification on geopolitical watch lists could be economically devastating.
In this environment, Jamaica’s approach must be rooted in strategic diplomacy, not deference. We must reassure Washington of our commitment to shared values — democratic governance, regional security, anti-narcotics efforts, and institutional stability. Our decades-long partnership with the US must be honoured. But we must also assert clearly that Jamaica, as a sovereign nation, has the right to pursue development partnerships with any country that respects our laws, our people, and our vision.
Our foreign policy posture must be proactive. We cannot afford to simply react to pressure from powerful states. Instead, Jamaica should take the lead in shaping how small nations engage a multi-polar world. We must define the terms of our cooperation, not allow them to be dictated. This means initiating robust bilateral dialogues with both the US and BRICS+ partners. It means elevating economic diplomacy and policy innovation to a national priority. And it means crafting a message that is neither combative nor compliant, but confident.
The broader Caribbean context adds both complexity and opportunity. Regional fragmentation weakens every State. But regional unity could offer enormous leverage. Through Caricom, Jamaica should lead efforts to develop a common regional strategy for engaging both the West and emerging powers. A coordinated Caribbean approach to trade, investment, climate resilience, and creative industry expansion would allow us to negotiate as a bloc, not as isolated actors. Our regional strength must not be left on the table.
It is time for Caricom to develop a coherent blueprint for engaging BRICS nations. Joint infrastructure proposals, collaborative digital transitions, and shared platforms for cultural diplomacy could open billions in investment, without compromising our values. But this will require trust, alignment, and ambition across the region. Jamaica, given its cultural capital and economic leadership, is well-placed to anchor that vision.
This moment also demands agility at home. Jamaica must modernise the architecture of trade and investment. That includes our Customs systems, regulatory environment, financial inclusion frameworks, and data infrastructure.
The world is moving quickly. We must not only catch up, we must move ahead. Investors, whether American, Chinese, Indian, or Emirati, will go where the environment is predictable, efficient, and aligned with global standards.
None of these shifts are abstract. They affect real people. They shape whether young Jamaican creatives can reach audiences in Lagos or Mumbai. They determine whether our farmers can export sustainably. They influence whether our remittance systems remain accessible and affordable. Whether we remain beholden to one dominant power or navigate toward multi-polar resilience is not a matter of ideology — it is a matter of survival.
The global order is being redrawn. Jamaica must not be passive. We must neither provoke nor submit. We must negotiate. We must balance. We must lead. This is the meaning of walking the tightrope: Not simply avoiding missteps, but turning each one into a movement of mastery. And we must do so not in the shadow of superpowers, but in the confidence of our own clarity.
This is not just foreign policy. This is national strategy. The choices we make now will define our voice, our economy, and our freedom for decades to come.
