ILA Strike Impact on Bahamas

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) launched a strike at midnight, shutting down key ports along the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States.

The ILA strike’s impact on the U.S. economy has been extensively analyzed, while little attention has been paid to the strike’s ripple effects in the Caribbean—especially among nations heavily reliant on U.S. imports. Imports account for 15% of the U.S. GDP; in contrast, imports account for 43% of the Bahamas' GDP. Most of the Bahamas' imports pass through Florida ports, which are now paralyzed by the strike.

If the ILA strike continues for two weeks, it could shave nearly 2% off of the Bahamas' annual GDP, at a time when the country is still grappling with the aftermath of the pandemic, which took a massive toll on its tourism-driven economy.

This situation highlights a well-known reality: “When the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold.” For smaller economies like the Bahamas, that cold develops into pneumonia.