Guatemala retains 51,639-tonne US sugar quota as tariff uncertainty persists
The United States has allocated Guatemala a 51,639-metric-tonne raw-value cane sugar quota for fiscal 2027, unchanged from 2025 and 2026. Preferential access is protected under CAFTA-DR, but the tariff treatment of shipments above the quota remains unresolved.
Fiscal 2027 allocation remains unchanged
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has allocated Guatemala 51,639 metric tonnes, raw value, of cane sugar under the US tariff-rate quota for fiscal 2027. La Hora reported that the volume is exactly the same as Guatemala’s allocations for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026, preserving the country’s established level of preferential access to the US market.
Guatemala accounts for about 4.6% of the global raw sugar quota of 1,117,195 metric tonnes, raw value. Jean Paul Brichaux, international trade negotiations manager at the Guatemalan Sugar Association, Asazgua, told La Hora that Guatemala has the fifth-largest allocation among the 39 countries included in the distribution.
The allocation also places Guatemala ahead of El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. It remains below major suppliers including the Dominican Republic, Brazil and the Philippines, but confirms Guatemala’s prominent position among Central American sugar exporters serving the United States.
Above-quota tariff remains unresolved
The quota is protected by the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA-DR, and was excluded from the 10% tariff imposed this year on a significant share of Guatemalan exports. Tariff-rate quotas allow specified import volumes to enter the United States at reduced rates, while shipments above those volumes generally face higher duties.
US authorities have not expressly defined the treatment of Guatemalan sugar exports exceeding the 51,639-tonne allocation. The issue falls under the Reciprocal Trade Agreement on Tariffs signed on January 30 between Guatemala’s Ministry of Economy and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
According to information cited by La Hora from the Ministry of Economy, the agreement remains in force and the 10% tariff continues to apply to products currently subject to it while US legal procedures to publish the relevant tariff-line list are completed. The ministry did not respond to the publication’s request for a direct comment.
Guatemala’s sugar industry wants sugar to be excluded from the 10% tariff covering 30% of agricultural products. It is also seeking a 0% rate for above-quota sales, matching the treatment received by at least 74% of products under the arrangement. Until a definitive list is issued, exporters lack certainty over the cost of additional shipments.
Quota covers a quarter of US-bound sugar
Brichaux said the quota represents around 25% of Guatemala’s sugar exports to the United States. That makes the preferential allocation commercially important, but also leaves a substantial share of US-bound trade potentially exposed to the unresolved above-quota tariff.
Asazgua data show that the United States received 12% of Guatemala’s sugar exports in 2025, making it the largest listed destination, followed by Canada at 11% and Taiwan at 10%. Continuity of the US quota supports producers, mills, workers and service providers across the sugar chain, while the final tariff decision will determine the competitiveness of volumes shipped beyond the protected allocation.
