“It’s really hard to focus on innovation and creativity when you’re consumed with this day-to-day of how we’re just going to balance the books and deal with the changing rates.”

One entrepreneur’s words, but many people’s experience these days.

The entrepreneur in question is Beth Muelenkamp, of a Massachusetts company that produces modern versions of nostalgic toys, such as Sea Monkeys or My Little Pony. Or at least she was. She got laid off earlier this month, and she’s not alone.

Elsewhere, at Learning Resources in Illinois, Made Plus in Annapolis, Dorai Home in Salt Lake City, business innovation has taken a backseat to figuring out how to deal with the ever-shifting landscape of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

It becomes a back and forth of working out budgets, negotiating with vendors and tracking shipments, reports the Associated Press.

All that creates uncertainty. Uncertainty means business decisions get delayed. Delays can end up meaning job cuts. Extra costs add to that.

So it is little surprise that Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper casts an eye towards the uncertainty in the US as he admits that there may be trouble ahead.

He talked of how the tourism sector is facing a “softening”, while “taxes and tariffs beyond our control will likely drive up cost of living and precipitate uncertainty”.

He talked of “much stricter and changing immigration laws” affecting Caribbean nationals if they travel outside of the US. What does that mean? They “stay put”, as Mr Cooper says.

So no cruise ticket. No air hop from Florida. Why risk a confrontation with an immigration official if you have any uncertainty?

Economic forecasts, Mr Cooper said, from top firms show a 45 percent chance of a US recession.

Again, if you don’t know what’s coming down the line, do you put your money on a holiday or do you keep it in case of hard times?

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Philip Davis was interviewed on UK television – by an interviewer who called him from Antarctica – to talk about the concerns the world faces over melting ice.

Mr Davis was asked about the absence of the US from climate talks, saying “the absence of the US is a choice by them”.

He talked of the impact of Hurricane Dorian as an example of climate change, he talked of places in Cat Island where there was once land that has been swallowed up by water.

He said: “There are real stories to be told and seen – don’t just sit in your ivory tower and talk about these issues.”

As he talks, the US has fired nearly all its staff looking after climate.gov, a major government website offering information on climate science through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office. It is likely that the website will shut down. Just two web developers remain from the entire staff.

Meanwhile, last month, both Greenland and Iceland set record heat levels for May.

Uncertainty about tourism levels. Uncertainty about prices. Uncertainty about the climate and our future.

The ride ahead is anything but smooth.