The Guatemalan Exporters Association (AGEXPORT) expects the authorities of the Central American country to negotiate with the Donald Trump government possible exceptions and adjustments to the 10% tariff imposed globally this week by the president of the United States.
Agexport told EFE this Friday, April 4 that Guatemala will have time to raise consensus as a country and, through the Ministry of Economy, to present a proposal to the United States to readjust the tariffs announced by Trump.
During 2024, Guatemala sent products valued at the United States in a total of 4,378 million dollars, which represented 35% of the total exports recorded last year, according to data from the Exporters Association.
The data of the Bank of Guatemala (Central) indicate that banana, sugar and coffee are the three main products that the Central American country sends to the United States, representing 18% of total exports.
The textile sector is the one with the highest incidence in the US market, with 1,617 million dollars in sales.
The export sector, as well as the main agricultural chambers of Guatemala, have warned that the new measure of the Donald Trump government will have a direct impact on rural works and asked the Guatemalan president, Bernardo Arévalo de León, measures to maintain competitiveness and trade facilitation.
The concerns and demands arose this week, after Trump sharpened his commercial war with the imposition of a 10% global tariff for all imports, which increases by 34% for China and by 20% for the products of the European Union (EU).
Possible effects on avocado
Another of the agricultural sectors of Guatemala that could suffer the effects of tariffs is the avocado, which this year premiered its permission to initiate its export to the United States.
By 2025, it was estimated that Guatemala would send around 1,700 metric tons of avocado to the United States, valued at 14.5 million dollars. However, the export sector explained that, with the new tariff measure, the production chains of this select fruit could be affected with a view to its shipment to North America.
The concern of Guatemalan businessmen has increased because the markets of the main cities of the United States would be waiting for Central American producers to assume the costs of 10% imposed by Trump this week.
For its part, the Ministry of Economy of Guatemala just reported that they are analyzing the possible effects of the tariff on each of the productive sectors and that it is necessary to observe the behavior of the markets when the measure enters into force this Saturday.