Tariff tensions and creative solutions: Rethinking Sri Lanka’s export future

The song Manike Mage Hithe stands out as a success story in Sri Lanka’s creative economy, serving as an eye-opener to the nation’s untapped potential

I think the time has come for Sri Lanka to have a paradigm shift in the economy. In Sri Lanka, we continue to focus on traditional exports such as tea, rubber, coconut, and garments. However, to stay competitive in the global market, we need to think beyond the conventional and explore innovative approaches—even if it means pushing our resources to their full potential. It is being years that we discuss about ‘creative economy’ which can be used as a new strategy for the country in order to achieve sustainable economic development

US President Donald Trump imposed a 44% tariff on Sri Lankan goods, citing it as a reciprocal measure to the 88% in taxes and trade barriers imposed by Sri Lanka on US products (Anyway again US President announced that he is suspending the ‘reciprocal’ tariffs imposed on Sri Lanka and several other countries). The United States remained Sri Lanka’s top export destination for many years. And also Sri Lanka, which depends significantly on apparel exports to the US, was severely impacted by a steep 44% tariff.

I think the time has come for Sri Lanka to have a paradigm shift in the economy. In Sri Lanka, we continue to focus on traditional exports such as tea, rubber, coconut, and garments. However, to stay competitive in the global market, we need to think beyond the conventional and explore innovative approaches—even if it means pushing our resources to their full potential. It is being years that we discuss about ‘creative economy’ which can be used as a new strategy for the country in order to achieve sustainable economic development.

Creative economy

John Howkins, the author of ‘The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas,’ creative industry refers to a range of economic activities that are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. Howkins divides the creative economy into 15 sectors, which are: 1) Advertising; 2) Architecture; 3) Art; 4) Crafts; 5) Design; 6) Fashion; 7) Film; 8) Music; 9) Performing Arts; 10) Publishing; 11) Research and Development; 12) Software; 13) Toys and Games; 14) TV and Radio; 15) Video Games.

According to Landry & Bianchini (1995), “The industries of the twenty-first century will depend increasingly on the generation of knowledge through creativity and innovation.” Human capital can be considered important and KSA factors – namely, knowledge, skills and attitude – as prime factors that will govern the world economy at this moment. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the creative economy contributes a notable 3% to the global gross domestic product (GDP), positioning it as a dynamic and rapidly growing sector fuelled by digitalisation and the expansion of services. Therefore, its impact on national economies should not be underestimated.

A few years ago, Sri Lanka witnessed a remarkable success story in viral marketing through the glocalisation of the song “Manike Mage Hithe”. The Manike Mage Hithe cover by Yohani and Satheeshan has exceeded watched millions mainly in India and the globe by translating the same into Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, English, Portuguese, and Spanish. We saw Amitabh Bachchan, one of the most iconic figures in Indian cinema, express his admiration for the Sri Lankan song ‘Manike Mage Hithe’ in a post on his blog. This can be considered one of the historical events in the music industry in Sri Lanka.

Go global

If you need to “go global” we need to understand the global trends and all environmental factors. If we really analyse trendy songs such as Manike Mage Hithe most of the time it can be seen targeting the new generation/s (Y, Z and Gen A). One decade back from India we can see a song by Kolaveri D which was successful at that time in the globe. Unlike Sri Lanka, at that time it can be seen Indian Higher Education sector taken that as one of the success stories in viral marketing. The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) ranked amongst the topmost business schools in India and Asia conducted some discussions on this with some own case studies. Even in IIM Ahmedabad there was an hour-long discussion between the professor and students of that class. Most of the Professors of IIMs – Bangalore, Rohtak and Lucknow – have played the song in class and reflected on the strategies played including viral marketing. 

Furthermore, the marketing club of IIM Ranchi organised a seminar on campus to study the strategy that has turned the song “Why This Kolaveri” into an overnight rage. Unfortunately, the song “Manike Mage Hithe” has not been meaningfully discussed or recognised within Sri Lankan academia—unlike in many other countries where universities actively appreciate and support the creative industries by nurturing talent and promoting best practices. This highlights a missed opportunity in fostering essential industry–academic collaboration.

The popularity of songs such as Manike Mage Hithe and Why This Kolaveri Di in social media can be considered a message reiterating the power of creativity and innovation with the essence of new technology. It is truly an internet generation that articulated the fashion and trends in the world. There is a responsibility and mechanisms from the stakeholders in the country to have a proper mechanism to respect the creativity and imagination of our young generation. The song Manike Mage Hithe stands out as a success story in Sri Lanka’s creative economy, serving as an eye-opener to the nation’s untapped potential. 

The concept of a creative economy refers to the income-generating capacity of creative ideas, talents, and activities. The creative economy encompasses careers in many of which the music industry also plays a vital part. As mentioned earlier, we have discussed the concept of “creative economy” and its importance to Sri Lanka for decades but could not see any positive feedback from the administrators (refer to the article by Dr. W.A. Wijewardena titled “A Creative Economy For SL’s Future Development: Much More To Be Done To Realise The Goal”- https://www.ft.lk/columns/A-creative-economy-for-SL-s-future-development-Much-more-to-be-done-to-realise-the-goal/4-716359).

Conclusion 

It is time for Sri Lanka to adopt strategic modalities to address current challenges facing key industries and to develop a long-term plan aimed at building a more diversified and resilient export portfolio, leveraging the country’s own resources and core competencies. Moreover, aligning with global trends is essential—this moment should serve as a wake-up call for the island nation to initiate a meaningful shift in its export policy.

(The writer is a Professor in Management Studies at the Open University of Sri Lanka. He can be reached on [email protected].)