If you import Guatemalan products into the US, or run a business in Guatemala that sells to the US, the duty that applies today is not the one that applied in 2025. This page lays out, in order, the four country-wide US tariff measures that have applied to Guatemalan goods since April 2025 (product-specific Section 232 tariffs, on steel or vehicles for example, are separate), from the US government documents that created them.
In short: Since 12:01 a.m. ET on July 24, 2026, products of Guatemala pay an extra 10% Section 301 duty on top of the normal US rate, with exemptions listed by USTR. It followed a 10% temporary import surcharge effective February 24, 2026 and scheduled through July 24, 2026, which itself followed the end of the April 2025 reciprocal tariff on February 20, 2026. CAFTA-DR textiles and apparel entered duty-free are exempt. The US-Guatemala Agreement on Reciprocal Trade was signed on January 30, 2026.
The four country-wide measures, in order
| Period | Measure | Rate for Guatemala | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| From April 2025 to February 20, 2026 | Reciprocal tariff | Additional duty under Executive Order 14257; the January 2026 agreement provides that, for goods not on its zero lists, the Executive Order 14257 rate «shall be no higher than 10 percent» once in force (no US notice of entry into force found) | International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) |
| February 20, 2026 | Reciprocal tariff ended | Executive Order 14389 ordered the IEEPA duties to stop being collected | IEEPA |
| February 24, 2026, scheduled through July 24, 2026 | Temporary import surcharge (Proclamation 11012) | 10% ad valorem, for 150 days, with exceptions | Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 |
| From July 24, 2026 | Section 301 forced-labor action | 10% on products of Guatemala, with exemptions | Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 |
The duty in force now: Section 301
On March 12, 2026 the US Trade Representative opened 60 investigations into economies that do not ban, or do not enforce a ban on, imports of goods made with forced labor. Guatemala was one of them (notice published March 17, 2026, 91 FR 12884). On June 2, 2026 USTR found the practices of all 60 actionable.
The action notice, published July 28, 2026 (91 FR 47318), says:
- Rate. 10% on products of Guatemala. The President’s memorandum of July 23, 2026 put Guatemala in the 10% group with Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago. Every other investigated economy got 12.5%, or a capped rate net of the normal duty for the EU, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Switzerland.
- Why Guatemala got the lower rate. USTR cites «Guatemala’s commitment in its ART related to prohibiting the importation of forced labor goods and its adoption of a forced labor import prohibition subsequent to the publication of the June 5, 2026 FRN».
- Start. Goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on July 24, 2026. Goods loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and in transit on the final mode of transit before 12:01 a.m. eastern time on July 24, 2026, and entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption before 12:01 a.m. eastern time on July 28, 2026, are not subject to the duty.
- How it stacks. The US tariff schedule line, heading 9903.05.40, reads «The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 10%». The 10% is added to the rate in the product’s own tariff subheading.
What is exempt
| Exemption | Where it is in the notice |
|---|---|
| Textile and apparel goods of Guatemala entered free of duty under CAFTA-DR | Heading 9903.05.95; Annex II, Part O |
| Exempt for every investigated economy: products for personal use in travellers’ accompanied baggage; articles of aluminum, steel or copper and certain vehicles, parts and wood products already covered by other chapter 99 tariffs; civil aircraft articles (engines, parts, ground flight simulators) meeting general note 6 of the HTSUS and in the listed classifications; pharmaceutical-use articles in the listed classifications; semiconductor articles (heading 9903.79.01); and listed tariff lines | New U.S. note 52 (headings 9903.05.86 to 9903.05.90), Annex I and Annex II, Part A |
| Products of Guatemala on a Guatemala-specific list | Annex II, Part G (heading 9903.06.04) |
| Guatemalan psyllium seed husks (subheading 1211.90.89), boswellia (1301.90.91), and aloe, Tasmanian pepper, coconut and centella (1302.19.91) | Heading 9903.06.05 |
| Products of Guatemala claimed under CAFTA-DR in listed tariff lines | Heading 9903.06.06 |
The Guatemala-specific product lists are printed in the Federal Register as scanned tables, which we could not read as text. We therefore do not state which farm products (coffee, bananas, sugar, vegetables) are on them. Check the HTSUS chapter 99, U.S. note 52, or ask a licensed customs broker before pricing a shipment.
What the US-Guatemala trade agreement says
USTR announced a framework in November 2025. Its fact sheet says the US «will remove the reciprocal tariffs on Guatemala’s exports to the United States for certain qualifying exports that cannot be grown, mined, or naturally produced in the United States in sufficient quantities», and would remove them from qualifying CAFTA-DR textiles and apparel.
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Guatemala’s Minister of Economy Adriana Gabriela Garcia (as USTR spells it) signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on January 30, 2026. Its Annex I sets out:
- Schedule 1A: originating goods that do not pay the Executive Order 14257 reciprocal duty.
- Schedule 1B: originating goods at a reciprocal rate of zero under Executive Order 14360 (agricultural products). Unroasted and roasted coffee, fresh bananas and cardamom are on it.
- Schedule 2: CAFTA-DR-originating goods in listed tariff lines that do not pay the reciprocal duty.
- Everything else: the reciprocal duty «shall be no higher than 10 percent».
Article 7.7 says the agreement enters into force 30 days after both sides notify each other in writing that their legal procedures are complete, or on another date the parties decide. USTR’s press-release listings from November 2025 to September 2026, checked on September 25, 2026, link only one release with Guatemala in its address: the January 30 signing. We found no US notice of entry into force.
Why this matters now: the tariff reductions in Annex I were written against the Executive Order 14257 reciprocal tariff, and that tariff stopped on February 20, 2026. The agreement’s other role shows up in the Section 301 notice: Guatemala’s forced-labor commitment in it is one of the reasons USTR gives for the 10% rate instead of 12.5%.
The February to July 2026 surcharge
Proclamation 11012 of February 20, 2026 imposed a 10% surcharge on imports for 150 days, effective February 24, 2026 and scheduled through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 24, 2026, unless suspended, modified or terminated earlier or extended by Congress. It excluded, among other categories, certain agricultural products (the proclamation names beef, tomatoes and oranges), pharmaceuticals, certain electronics, and textile and apparel articles entered free of duty as a good of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras or Nicaragua under CAFTA-DR.
The trade in numbers
USTR’s Guatemala page (read September 25, 2026) puts US goods imports from Guatemala at $5.2 billion in 2025, US goods exports to Guatemala at $10.0 billion, and the US goods trade surplus with Guatemala at $4.8 billion. CAFTA-DR entered into force for Guatemala on July 1, 2006.
Related
- US government actions affecting Guatemalans (2026 tracker)
- Guatemala coffee prices
- The 1% US remittance tax
Sources, read on 25 September 2026: USTR, Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations (Federal Register, July 28, 2026, 91 FR 47318, doc. 2026-15181), including the President’s memorandum of July 23, 2026; USTR notices of March 17, 2026 (91 FR 12884) and June 5, 2026 (91 FR 34272); Proclamation 11012 and Executive Order 14389 (Federal Register, February 25, 2026, 91 FR 9339 and doc. 2026-03832); USTR press release of January 30, 2026, the Agreement between the United States of America and Guatemala on Reciprocal Trade (PDF), and USTR’s November 2025 framework fact sheet; USTR Guatemala country page; USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule search for headings 9903.05.40 and 9903.06.04. General information, not customs or legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the US tariff on products from Guatemala right now?
An additional 10% Section 301 duty on products of Guatemala, on top of the normal US rate, for goods entered on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on July 24, 2026 (USTR notice, Federal Register, July 28, 2026, 91 FR 47318). The US tariff schedule line for it, heading 9903.05.40, reads «The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 10%» (USITC HTS search, September 25, 2026). Exempt products are listed in Annexes I and II of the USTR notice.
Why 10% and not 12.5%?
USTR’s notice says that, consistent with the President’s direction, 10% applies to an economy that imposes a forced labor import prohibition, has committed to impose and enforce such a prohibition through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), or has imposed a partial regime with the effect of preventing the importation of certain forced labor goods; 12.5% applies to every other economy, with rates calculated net of the normal (MFN) duty for the EU, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Switzerland. The President’s July 23, 2026 memorandum lists Guatemala in the 10% group. USTR’s Guatemala determination also cites Guatemala’s commitment in its ART and its adoption of a forced labor import prohibition after the June 5, 2026 notice.
Are Guatemalan textiles and clothing exempt?
Textile and apparel goods of Guatemala entered free of duty under CAFTA-DR are exempt from the Section 301 duty (heading 9903.05.95 in the USTR notice). The same CAFTA-DR textile carve-out applied to the February-July 2026 import surcharge.
Is Guatemalan coffee exempt from the 10% duty?
We could not confirm it. USTR publishes Guatemala’s product exemptions (Annex II, Part G, and the CAFTA-DR list under heading 9903.06.06) as scanned tables in the Federal Register, which we could not read as text. The signed January 30, 2026 trade agreement lists unroasted and roasted coffee, bananas and cardamom for a zero reciprocal rate (we found no notice that the agreement entered into force), and that rate belonged to the April 2025 reciprocal tariff, which ended in February 2026. Importers should check the HTSUS chapter 99 notes or a customs broker for a specific product.
What happened to the April 2025 reciprocal tariff?
Executive Order 14389 of February 20, 2026 ordered that the duties imposed under the emergency-powers law (IEEPA), including those under Executive Order 14257, «shall no longer be in effect and, as soon as practicable, shall no longer be collected.» The same day, Proclamation 11012 imposed a 10% temporary import surcharge for 150 days, effective February 24, 2026 and scheduled through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 24, 2026. The Section 301 duty took effect at that same minute.
