Due to labor and human rights violations, the United States announced on Wednesday that it will start imposing new tariffs on some Nicaraguan commodities in 2027.
According to the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office, the duties will be phased in over a two-year period, beginning in January 2027 at 10% and increasing to 15% in January 2028.
These will be added to the 18% “reciprocal” duty that President Donald Trump levied earlier this year in response to what his administration considered to be unfair trade practices.
The action comes after a USTR inquiry into Nicaragua’s labor, human rights, and rule of law practices was started last year.
It determined that Nicaragua “has engaged in increasingly pervasive abuses of labor rights, as well as human rights and fundamental freedoms, and has systematically dismantled rule of law protections against arbitrary government action.”
Since then, the USTR has concluded that Nicaragua’s practices and policies “are unreasonable and burden or restrict US commerce.”
This is because it creates “unfair competition against US workers and businesses through denial of basic labor rights resulting in artificially low-cost Nicaraguan products,” among other issues.
The new levy will apply to imported goods from the country not originating under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement.
“Should Nicaragua show a lack of progress in addressing these issues, this timeline and these rates may be modified,” the USTR said.
