Honduras Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in honduras, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Barriers
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CAFTA-DR provides market access for U.S. consumer, industrial and agricultural products, improving U.S. competitiveness against third country suppliers and helping expand U.S. exports overall. The agreement requires important reforms of the domestic legal and business environment, which are still ongoing, as well as transparency and efficiency in administering customs procedures, including CAFTA rules of origin.

Honduras did not negotiate any tariff rate quotas when it became a member of the WTO. It does, however, have limitations on imports of rice and white corn to protect local production. For additional information about tariffs under CAFTA-DR please refer to the Customs Info Database tariff look-up tool available on trade.gov

On March 6, 2023, The Government of Honduras (GOH) published new procedures for importing rice and poultry, with no advanced notification, comment period, or phase-in period. The procedures require importers to register on an annual basis, a process which typically involves many steps and time. After the registration process is completed, importers must apply for an import permit for each shipment, which also involves several more steps under an opaque and bureaucratic process that results in additional delays. These regulations are causing confusion, delays, and additional port fees for U.S. exporters and their customers. To avoid potential delays and demurrage costs at Port, the Foreign Agricultural Service based at the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa advises that all exporters file their import documents at least 1 month in advance.

In addition to agricultural products, Honduras maintains some non-tariff barriers for services. Currently, special government authorization must be obtained to invest in the tourism and banking service sectors. Under CAFTA-DR, Honduras allows substantial market access in services across its entire services regime, subject to a few exceptions in the licensed professions. Honduran professional associations heavily regulate the licensing of foreigners to practice law, medicine, engineering, accounting, and other professions requiring certification and industry-specific licensing. For more information on service and investment barriers, please read the annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, found under the Reports and Publications section of the Press Office.

For more information and help with trade barriers, please contact:

International Trade Administration

Trade Enforcement and Compliance

https://www.commerce.gov/issues/trade-enforcement

Phone: (202) 482-0063
Email: ECCommunications@trade.gov

 


 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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