Costa Rica Again Cuts Rice Tariffs, Undercutting US Export Competitiveness
A Costa Rican court on June 4 restored lower 3.5% to 4% tariffs in the country on imports of milled and rough rice, overturning an April court ruling that had put higher 35% tariffs in place (see 2404250057). The decision…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
“dramatically erodes” preferential access for U.S. rice exports under a tariff-rate quota negotiated in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, the Foreign Agricultural Service said in a June 12 report. “Earlier hopes for higher U.S. rough rice exports to Costa Rica in 2024 evaporated before a single shipment could reach Costa Rican ports.” However, FAS doesn’t expect the “stunning reversal to be the final word in this political tug-of-war,” as the lower tariffs “pose an existential threat to the majority of Costa Rican rice producers.”