Describes bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that this country is party to, including with the United States. Includes websites and other resources where U.S. companies can get more information on how to take advantage of these agreements.
Last Published: 7/29/2019

As a CARICOM member, Belize’s foreign, economic and trade policies vis-a-vis non-members are coordinated regionally.  The country’s import tariffs are largely defined by CARICOM’s Common External Tariff.

Belize is also a member of several other treaties because of its CARICOM membership.  A primary example is the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between CARIFORUM and the European Union (EU).  In the wake of Brexit, these countries also signed a CARIFORUM – United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement in March 2019.  The latter agreement is expected to come into effect by January 2021 or soon after the UK leaves the EU.    Belize, as a CARICOM member state, is also a party to five other bilateral trade agreements with Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.

Outside of CARICOM, Belize is a member of the Central American Integration System (SICA) at a political level, but is not a part of the Secretariat of Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) that supports economic integration of Central America.

Belize is a member of the WTO and adheres to the organization’s agreements and reporting system.  The Belize Bureau of Standards (BBS) is the national standards body responsible for preparing, promoting, and implementing standards for goods, services, and processes.  The BBS operates in in accordance with the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality.  The BBS is also a member of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and Codex Alimentarius.

Belize does not have a Free Trade Agreement with the United States nor with Canada, but is a qualifying country under the U.S. Generalized System of Preference (GSP), the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) and the Caribbean – Canada Trade agreement (CARIBCAN). 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.