Central America                 | CAFTA Is Good News For U.S....

Central America                

CAFTA Is Good News For U.S. Beef And Pork Industries

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced on December 17 that a Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) had been successfully completed with Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The agreement is good news for the red meat industry.

U.S. Prime and Choice beef cuts will immediately be exempt from both tariffs and quotas. Exports of all other beef products to Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador will see tariffs reduced to zero over the next 15 years, while Guatemalan tariffs will be phased out over the next 10 years. U.S. beef exports to all four Central American countries will not be bound to quotas.

The new free trade zone will establish import quotas for U.S. pork products going to Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, but will phase out the tariffs on these products and the quotas themselves over the next 15 years. Each country will have a separate quota for pork imports:

Guatemala       3,950 metric tons (mt), increasing 5 percent per year

Honduras        2,000 mt, increasing 7.5 percent per year

El Salvador      1,500 mt, increasing 10 percent per year

Nicaragua        1,000 mt, increasing 10 percent per year

A news release with more details and reactions from USMEF President & CEO Philip Seng and Vice President, Western Hemisphere Homero Recio is available online.

Central America                

CAFTA Is Good News For U.S. Beef And Pork Industries

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced on December 17 that a Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) had been successfully completed with Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The agreement is good news for the red meat industry.

U.S. Prime and Choice beef cuts will immediately be exempt from both tariffs and quotas. Exports of all other beef products to Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador will see tariffs reduced to zero over the next 15 years, while Guatemalan tariffs will be phased out over the next 10 years. U.S. beef exports to all four Central American countries will not be bound to quotas.

The new free trade zone will establish import quotas for U.S. pork products going to Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, but will phase out the tariffs on these products and the quotas themselves over the next 15 years. Each country will have a separate quota for pork imports:

Guatemala       3,950 metric tons (mt), increasing 5 percent per year

Honduras        2,000 mt, increasing 7.5 percent per year

El Salvador      1,500 mt, increasing 10 percent per year

Nicaragua        1,000 mt, increasing 10 percent per year

A news release with more details and reactions from USMEF President & CEO Philip Seng and Vice President, Western Hemisphere Homero Recio is available online.