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…
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“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.”