WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is planning to drop Nicaragua from the list of countries eligible for low-tariff shipments of sugar into the U.S., stepping up pressure on the government of President
Daniel Ortega,
an authoritarian leader with close ties to Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
The step comes as part of the U.S.’s schedule for sugar import quotas for the fiscal year starting October, to be unveiled by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office by Thursday. The list excluding Nicaragua was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. allows countries to ship specific amounts of sugar at relatively low tariff rates, before imposing higher rates once the assigned quotas are met. Without the preferential tariff quota, it would become much harder for Nicaragua to sell its sugar in the U.S.
For the current year, the U.S. had allocated a quota of 22,114 metric tons of raw cane sugar to Nicaragua, out of its total allocations of 1.12 million tons.
While Nicaragua’s shipment of sugar to the U.S. is relatively small, increases in bilateral trade tensions could inflict significant economic pain to the country, which shipped nearly two-thirds of its total exports in 2020, or roughly $3.5 billion, to the U.S., according to the World Trade Organization.
The limit on the sugar imports is Washington’s latest step to pressure Mr. Ortega, whom the U.S. has accused of repressing political opponents. President Biden excluded Nicaragua, along with Cuba and Venezuela, from the Summit of the Americas he hosted last month in Los Angeles.
Mr. Ortega, a former Sandinista guerrilla, was re-elected to Nicaragua’s presidency last November in elections widely condemned as a sham. The Ortega government has defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, refusing to join other Latin American nations in condemning Mr. Putin.
The action on sugar imports comes as Mr. Biden seeks to push back against declining U.S. influence in Latin America and counter China’s growing influence through cooperation in areas such as supply chain resilience and climate policy. At the same time, pandemic response.
Such a stance is combined with actions against government policies harmful to U.S. businesses. On Wednesday, the U.S. initiated a challenge against Mexico’s energy policy, contending that the country bolsters its state-owned power and oil companies at the expense of U.S. businesses.
Write to Yuka Hayashi at yuka.hayashi@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is planning to drop Nicaragua from the list of countries eligible for low-tariff shipments of sugar into the U.S., stepping up pressure on the government of President
Daniel Ortega,
an authoritarian leader with close ties to Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
The step comes as part of the U.S.’s schedule for sugar import quotas for the fiscal year starting October, to be unveiled by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office by Thursday. The list excluding Nicaragua was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. allows countries to ship specific amounts of sugar at relatively low tariff rates, before imposing higher rates once the assigned quotas are met. Without the preferential tariff quota, it would become much harder for Nicaragua to sell its sugar in the U.S.
For the current year, the U.S. had allocated a quota of 22,114 metric tons of raw cane sugar to Nicaragua, out of its total allocations of 1.12 million tons.
While Nicaragua’s shipment of sugar to the U.S. is relatively small, increases in bilateral trade tensions could inflict significant economic pain to the country, which shipped nearly two-thirds of its total exports in 2020, or roughly $3.5 billion, to the U.S., according to the World Trade Organization.
The limit on the sugar imports is Washington’s latest step to pressure Mr. Ortega, whom the U.S. has accused of repressing political opponents. President Biden excluded Nicaragua, along with Cuba and Venezuela, from the Summit of the Americas he hosted last month in Los Angeles.
Mr. Ortega, a former Sandinista guerrilla, was re-elected to Nicaragua’s presidency last November in elections widely condemned as a sham. The Ortega government has defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, refusing to join other Latin American nations in condemning Mr. Putin.
The action on sugar imports comes as Mr. Biden seeks to push back against declining U.S. influence in Latin America and counter China’s growing influence through cooperation in areas such as supply chain resilience and climate policy. At the same time, pandemic response.
Such a stance is combined with actions against government policies harmful to U.S. businesses. On Wednesday, the U.S. initiated a challenge against Mexico’s energy policy, contending that the country bolsters its state-owned power and oil companies at the expense of U.S. businesses.
Write to Yuka Hayashi at yuka.hayashi@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8