LatinNews Daily - 11 December 2025

*The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that it will impose phased-in tariffs on Nicaragua to address the government’s “acts, policies, and practices related to abuses of labor rights, abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and dismantling of the rule of law”. The move follows a USTR investigation which was launched last year. The tariffs stack with others such as the existing 18% reciprocal tariff which took effect in August. According to the USTR, effective 1 January, the US will impose a tariff that is phased in over two years on all imported Nicaraguan goods that are not originating under the Dominican Republic-Central America-US Free Trade Agreement (Cafta-DR). The tariff will be set at 0% on 1 January 2026 and will increase to 10% on 1 January 2027, and to 15% on 1 January 2028.  The tariffs are less than the previous threat to impose up to 100% tariffs on Nicaraguan goods as floated in October, however. The rights abuses listed by the USTR include “repression of freedom of association and collective bargaining; interference in worker and employer organizations; seizure of assets and removal of citizenship of members of worker and employer organizations; arbitrary dismissals and arrests; child and forced labor; human trafficking; and workplace abuses, including wage deductions and theft, and retaliation for claiming rights violations.” The USTR notes that the violations are exacerbated by the government’s shuttering of civil society organisations which seek to address these issues, as part of its crackdown on dissent. It also cites recent data which shows 47% of Nicaraguan children between the ages of 10 and 14 are working.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 270 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial