Guatemala applies the common external tariff schedule of the Central American Common Market (CACM), which ranges from zero to 15 percent for most agricultural and industrial goods, though there are exceptions of up to 40 percent for alcoholic beverages and up to 20 percent for cigarettes with tobacco content, various types of vehicles, and firearms. The average applied rate on all products is approximately 2.4 percent.

Under CAFTA-DR, about 5,263 of a total 6,307 HS codes for U.S. industrial and consumer goods enter Guatemala duty-free, with the remaining 1,044 tariffs scheduled to be phased-out by 2026. Nearly all textile and apparel goods that meet the agreement’s rules of origin are now traded duty-free and quota-free, promoting new opportunities for U.S. and regional fiber, yarn, fabric, and apparel manufacturing. The agreement’s tariff treatment for textile and apparel goods is retroactive to January 1, 2004. Guatemala is open to U.S. agricultural products, where 98 percent of the products already have zero tariff.  Prior to CAFTA-DR, Guatemala was already complying with its WTO tariff bindings, and duties were relatively low.

To look up duties and tariffs use, use the Customs Info Database tariff look-up tool, available on trade.gov (free registration required), to estimate duties and taxes.

Tariff-rate Quotas (TRQs)

The CAFTA-DR set TRQs on 12 agricultural products and product categories, which are managed by DACE, a department of the Administration of Foreign Commerce / Ministry of Economy. DACE has implemented a well-functioning system for distributing quotas and reporting on quota allocation.

The 12 products include rough rice, white rice, beef, ice cream, milk, white corn, butter, cheese, and other dairy products. The TRQ for yellow corn was phased out in 2015.  The TRQ for chicken leg quarters was eliminated in 2017 when the tariff was set to zero.  The TRQs for pork and for whole black beans were phased out in 2020.  The rice TRQ phased out January 1, 2023.  The powdered milk TRQ will phase out in 2025.  White corn is protected, with a TRQ of 27,200 MT in 2023, growing by 2 percent annually in perpetuity, and a 20% out of quota tariff.  To obtain updated information on quota allocation procedures, and advisory committee meetings, please contact  Mrs. Yasmin Afre, yaafre@mineco.gob.gt or Mrs. Dinora Alvarez, malvarez@mineco.gob.gt.