Guatemala: Trade Partnerships

Guatemala, Central America's largest economy, has belonged to the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) since the pact entered into force for the country in July 2006. The agreement substantially lowered tariffs and other barriers across goods, services, and investment among the United States, the Dominican Republic, and five Central American nations, and it has shaped the structure of Guatemala's external trade ever since. As of 2026, the United States remains Guatemala's dominant trading partner: the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative reported two-way goods and services trade of roughly $19.5 billion in 2025, with the United States running a sizable surplus in goods trade.

As of 2026, the United States receives close to a third of Guatemala's exports, well ahead of neighboring El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico, which together account for most of the remaining share. On the import side, the United States again supplies the largest portion of Guatemalan purchases from abroad, with China and Mexico also ranking among the leading sources. Guatemala's principal export goods include coffee, raw cane sugar, bananas and other fresh produce, cardamom, petroleum, and apparel assembled for the U.S. market, and the country is consistently ranked among the world's leading cardamom producers.

Guatemalan exporters, particularly in textiles and agriculture, have also drawn on U.S. trade preference programs such as the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act and the Generalized System of Preferences, which supplement the market access already secured under CAFTA-DR. Continued eligibility under these preference programs has periodically come under review in connection with labor rights commitments. Together, CAFTA-DR membership and sustained demand from the U.S. market have made trade with the United States the single most important external economic relationship shaping Guatemala's growth.