Trump Government Imposes 18% Tariffs on Nicaragua
Nicaragua with 18% and Venezuela with 15% are among the countries that will pay the most to export to the USA, above the general 10% rate
HAVANA TIMES – On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of an 18% tariff on imports from Nicaragua, nearly doubling the rate applied to other Central American countries like Costa Rica, Guatemala, and El Salvador, which were levied a 10% tariff.
Trump also announced a 20% tariff on imports from the European Union (EU) and a 10% tariff on several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, as part of his trade war.
“This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in the history of the United States. It is our declaration of economic independence,” said Trump during a major event at the White House, referring to the day as “America’s Liberation Day.”
The president appeared in the White House Rose Garden to provide details of an executive order that sets a minimum 10% tariff on imports from dozens of countries worldwide and an additional levy for those that Washington considers the “worst offenders” due to barriers to US products.
The Weight of Nicaraguan Exports to the US.
Although its relative importance has declined as a source of investment and destination for exports, the US remains the main source of foreign currency flowing into Nicaragua. Remittances, foreign aid (loans and donations), and tourism are other key contributors to the national dollar market.
One of President Trump’s main justifications for imposing tariffs is the US trade deficit with the targeted nations. However, that’s not the case with Nicaragua. According to the Foreign Trade Report for Q4 2024, published by Nicaragua’s Central Bank, the US exported goods worth $2.1077 billion to Nicaragua in 2024, while Nicaragua exported $1.6237 billion in goods to the US.
This resulted in a surplus of $484 million in favor of the US.
This surplus has been growing in recent years: it was $387 million in 2022, rose to $413.4 million in 2023, and notably, the positive balance for the U.S. economy was just $9 million in 2021. The shift occurred when gold sales stopped going to the U.S. and were redirected to Canada.
The U.S. also maintained its dominance as the main source of remittances to Nicaragua. According to the Remittances Report for Q4 2024, 82.8% (or $4.3 billion) of all remittances received by Nicaraguan families came from the US. Similarly, in 2024, net foreign direct investment from the US totaled $282.9 million (20.9% of the total), “mainly directed toward the industrial, energy, trade, and service sectors,” according to the “Evolution of Foreign Direct Investment in Nicaragua” report for the second half of 2024.
Trump on Other Trade Partners
Regarding the EU, Trump said the 20% tariff is justified because, he claimed, the bloc imposes an average 39% tariff on US products.
“You think of the European Union as being very friendly: they rip us off. It’s very sad to see. It’s so pathetic; they charge us 39%, we’re going to charge them 20%,” he explained.
“The European Union bans the import of most U.S. poultry. What they say is, ‘We want to send you our cars, we want to send you everything, but we won’t accept anything you have,'” he added.
The chart shown by the president also sets 10% tariffs for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica.
These Latin American countries, therefore, will only be subject to the 10% minimum tariff imposed by the United States.
Other Latin American countries will face higher tariffs, such as Venezuela, which will pay 15% to export to the US, and Nicaragua, 18%.
According to senior U.S. officials in a press call, the minimum 10% tariff will go into effect on Saturday, April 5, while the additional country-specific tariffs will begin on April 9.
To implement these tariffs, Trump has declared a “national emergency,” arguing that the current trade situation poses a risk to US national security, those officials explained.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.