Guatemala to Eliminate Tariffs on U.S. Chicken Products

Guatemala has agreed to end tariffs on select U.S. chicken products years earlier than planned. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office Monday said an agreement between the U.S. and Guatemala calls for the elimination of the 12.5 percent tariff on U.S. exports of fresh, frozen and chilled chicken leg quarters this month. The agreement is part of negotiations under the Central American Free Trade Agreement, according to Politico. Under the agreement, the U.S. and Guatemala will also establish a tariff rate quota allowing imports of 1,000 metric tons of processed chicken leg quarters to enter duty-free each year through December 31, 2021. Any remaining tariffs and quotas will be eliminated, effective January 1, 2022. Sales of U.S. chicken leg quarters to Guatemala totaled $82 million in 2016, about eight percent of the country’s total U.S. agricultural imports of $1.1 billion last year.

From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.

From: Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

USTR Announces New Access for U.S. Poultry Exports to Guatemala

Guatemala to Eliminate Tariffs on U.S. Poultry

John Melle, Assistant USTR for the Western Hemisphere and
Rubén Morales, Minister of Economy of Guatemala
(USTR photo: 03/31/2017)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the United States and Guatemala have reached an agreement that will benefit U.S. poultry producers. Under the agreement, Guatemala will unilaterally accelerate the elimination of tariffs on U.S. exports of fresh, frozen, and chilled chicken leg quarters. Without this agreement, U.S. poultry exports would have faced a tariff of 12.5 percent this year.

This notable achievement for U.S. poultry exporters is a result of negotiations that USTR commenced in February 2017. This market opening benefits U.S. poultry exporters and expands trade for U.S. agriculture producers.

Under this new agreement, Guatemala’s elimination of tariffs for fresh, frozen and chilled poultry will occur four and a half years earlier than originally planned. Guatemala and the United States also reached a bilateral agreement for Guatemala to establish a tariff rate quota allowing imports of 1,000 metric tons of processed chicken leg quarters to enter duty free each year through December 31, 2021. The tariffs and tariff-rate quota will be eliminated effective January 1, 2022.

Background

U.S. agricultural exports to Guatemala were over $1.1 billion in 2016, of which U.S. chicken leg quarters were an important component – approximately 8 percent, or $82 million.  Guatemala is the sixth largest export market for U.S. poultry.  U.S. poultry exporters had a 98 percent market share of all imports of chicken leg quarters into Guatemala in 2016.