США переосмысливают стратегическое значение Тринидада и Тобаго в контексте конкуренции с Китаем

OPINION: Trinidad and Tobago is becoming more important to Washington than anyone realizes Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026 | 2 a.m. View more of the Sun's opinion section There is something worth paying attention to in the recent engagement between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States. The relationship is beginning to move beyond the familiar language of Caribbean diplomacy. Discussions in Port of Spain earlier with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau increasingly centered on energy security, investment, industrial capacity and regional security. The United States has described the relationship as its highest level in decades while recognizing Trinidad and Tobago’s role in regional security and global supply chain resilience. The energy question is especially important. BP has agreed to acquire Woodside Energy’s 70% interest in the Calypso gas project, which would give BP full ownership upon the completion of the transaction. The discoveries are estimated to contain 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. BP is already Trinidad and Tobago’s largest domestic gas supplier and owns 45% of Atlantic LNG. This renewed commitment could help address the gas shortages that have constrained LNG and petrochemical production. For Washington, this is not simply another natural gas project. The United States is increasingly thinking about energy in terms of national resilience and secure supply chains. While Trinidad and Tobago cannot replace the world’s major energy producers, it offers a nearby, established energy partner with decades of experience in natural gas, LNG and downstream industries. Then there is steel. The agreement with U.S.-based Pinnacle Steel and Vanadium Corp. to explore refurbishing and recommissioning the Point Lisas steel plant is potentially much more significant than it sounds. The project could extend into strategic metals production, including vanadium, with the Trinidad and Tobago government saying it could eventually meet a substantial share of U.S. demand. And this is where Washington should look beyond the immediate commercial transaction. The United States is trying to rebuild its maritime industrial base while confronting China’s enormous advantage in commercial shipbuilding and critical industrial supply chains. To this end, in 2025 the United States acted against what it described as China’s efforts to dominate the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries, although the resulting fees and duties are suspended while the two countries negotiate. When we talk about Trinidad and Tobago supplying steel or strategic metals to American manufacturing and potentially naval shipbuilding, we are really talking about something much larger than steel. We are talking about supply chain security during a period of strategic competition. The U.S.-China trade war has made this even more important because, while tariffs can make Chinese goods more expensive, these measures do not manufacture steel, create shipyards or develop alternative sources of critical minerals. At some point, Washington has to build the capacity it wants to protect, and a revived steel plant in Trinidad and Tobago could become part of that answer. It would give American industry access to a trusted Western Hemisphere supplier while giving Trinidad and Tobago the opportunity to move further away from dependence on exporting energy molecules. The U.S. International Trade Commission has maintained trade protections on Chinese ferrovanadium alloy and other strategic steel products, reflecting concerns about Chinese industrial competition. There is also a wider strategic logic here because, if Washington wants to reduce China’s influence over critical supply chains, it needs reliable partners, and Trinidad and Tobago is poised to take on that responsibility. Trinidad and Tobago has seen too many grand industrial promises become announcements rather than productive enterprises. While the memorandum of understanding and the resulting investment announcement are a start, this project will require financing, infrastructure, reliable energy, regulation and the will to see it through to completion. Still, the opportunity is real. For Trinidad and Tobago, the challenge is to ensure that new U.S. investment produces lasting productive capacity. For Washington, the lesson is that Caribbean countries should not be viewed only through the lenses of migration, crime or Venezuela. At a moment when Washington is trying to rebuild American industry, secure supply chains and compete with China, Trinidad and Tobago isn’t asking for a favor. Instead, it is offering a partnership. And Washington may discover that such a partnership is part of America’s economic and strategic interests. Ravi Balgobin Maharaj is a political commentator and activist in Trinidad and Tobago. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.