Trinidad and Tobago (TT) is a high-income, small island developing country with a GDP per capita of approximately $18,222 and an annual GDP of $27.9 billion in 2022.  GDP is expected to grow by 3.5 percent in 2023.  It has the largest economy in the English-speaking Caribbean due to natural gas and petrochemical production.  In 2022, the oil and gas sector accounted for 29.8 percent of GDP and 81 percent of export earnings, higher than in previous years due to high global commodity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  The United States remains TT’s largest trading partner, accounting for 39.4 percent of the country’s imports and 39.3 percent of TT’s exports in 2022.  Major categories of U.S. exports include petroleum oil, aircraft parts, machinery, chemicals, plastics, and food and beverage products.  TT’s investment climate is generally open and most investment barriers have been eliminated.  Major issues affecting some companies are delays in obtaining foreign exchange, slow government bureaucracy, crime, low labor productivity, and corruption.

Top five reasons to export to TT:

• TT is a high-income country with close cultural, social, and economic ties to the United States.
• Consumers have a strong appetite for imported products and U.S. products are considered high quality goods.
• A sovereign wealth fund and foreign reserves that currently provide 8 months of import cover create financial resilience. 
• The business environment is generally open and most barriers to trade have been eliminated.
• TT benefits from a stable democratic political system.

Political Environment

Visit State Department’s website for background on the Trinidad and Tobago’s political and economic environment.