LatinNews Daily - 15 December 2025

Nicaragua: On 10 December the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it would impose phased-in tariffs on Nicaragua to address the government’s “acts, policies, and practices related to abuses of labor rights, abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and dismantling of the rule of law”. According to the USTR, which launched an investigation into Nicaragua last year, effective 1 January, the US will impose a tariff that is phased in over two years on all imported Nicaraguan goods that are not originating under the Dominican Republic-Central America-US Free Trade Agreement (Cafta-DR). The tariff will be set at 0% on 1 January 2026 and will increase to 10% on 1 January 2027, and to 15% on 1 January 2028. According to the USTR, US goods and services trade with Nicaragua totalled an estimated US$8.7bn in 2024, up 6.0% on 2023. Of this total, US goods trade with Nicaragua was an estimated US$7.4bn while US services trade with Nicaragua totalled US$1.3bn. The tariffs are less than the USTR’s previous threat to impose up to 100% tariffs on Nicaraguan goods as floated in October, however.

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