Several countries will be permitted duty-free access to the US market
for various quantities of sugar, syrup goods and sugar-containing
product exports for calendar year 2018, according to a notice from the
Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the December
28 Federal Register. Duty-free access and the quantity of goods that
qualify for such treatment is related to each countries trade balance
with the US for those products. Preferential tariff treatment for sugar
exports to the US is provided for under multiple trade agreements: The
US-Chile Free Trade Agreement, the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement, the
Dominican Republic-Central America-US Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR),
the US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, the US-Colombia Trade Promotion
Agreement and the US-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement. USTR determined
that certain sugar and syrup goods and sugar-containing products from
Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua
qualify for some level of duty-free access to the US market in calendar
year 2018. However, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Morocco, Panama,
and Peru do not qualify for any duty-free access in 2018 as they ran a
trade deficit for sugar and syrup goods with the US in calendar year
2016, USTR said.