On August 5, 2004, the United States signed the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with five Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and the Dominican Republic (the Parties). Under the Agreement, the Parties significantly liberalizes trade in goods and services.
The CAFTA-DR also includes important disciplines relating to: customs administration and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, government procurement, investment, telecommunications, electronic commerce, intellectual property rights, transparency and labor and environmental protection.
The Agreement entered into force for the United States and El Salvador on March 1, 2006; for, Honduras and Nicaragua on Aril 1 2006; and for Guatemala on July 1, 2006. The CAFTA-DR entered into force for the Dominican Republic on March 1, 2007, and for Costa Rica on January 1, 2009.
U.S.-Honduras Trade Facts
In 2019, Honduras GDP was an estimated $24.4 billion (current market exchange rates); real GDP was up by an estimated 2.7%; and the population was 10 million. (Source: IMF)
U.S. goods and services trade with Honduras totaled an estimated $12.3 billion in 2019. Exports were $6.7 billion; imports were $5.6 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade surplus with Honduras was $1.1 billion in 2019.
Honduras is currently our 45th largest goods trading partner with $10.3 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2019. Goods exports totaled $5.4 billion; goods imports totaled $4.8 billion. The U.S. goods trade surplus with Honduras was $616 million in 2019.
Trade in services with Honduras (exports and imports) totaled an estimated $2.1 billion in 2019. Services exports were $1.3 billion; services imports were $765 million. The U.S. services trade surplus with Honduras was $529 million in 2019.
According to the Department of Commerce, U.S. exports of goods and services to Honduras supported an estimated 33 thousand jobs in 2015 (latest data available) (26 thousand supported by goods exports and 6 thousand supported by services exports).
Exports
- Honduras was the United States' 44th largest goods export market in 2019.
- U.S. goods exports to Honduras in 2019 were $5.4 billion, down 2.7% ($154 million) from 2018 but up 61.5% from 2009. U.S. exports to Honduras are up 67.2% from 2005 (pre-FTA).
- The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2019 were: mineral fuels ($1.3 billion), cotton ($719 million), manmade staple fibers ($527 million), electrical machinery ($374 million), and special other (returns) ($319 million).
- U.S. total exports of agricultural products to Honduras totaled $743 million in 2019. Leading domestic export categories include: corn ($123 million), soybean meal ($99 million), wheat ($69 million), pork & pork products ($67 million), and wine & beer ($53 million).
- U.S. exports of services to Honduras were an estimated $1.3 billion in 2019, 1.8% ($23 million) more than 2018, and 92.6% greater than 2009 levels. Leading services exports from the U.S. to Honduras were in the travel, transport, and professional and management services sectors.
Imports
- Honduras was the United States' 49th largest supplier of goods imports in 2019.
- U.S. goods imports from Honduras totaled $4.8 billion in 2019, up 2.8% ($130 million) from 2018, and up 45.3% from 2009. U.S. imports from Honduras are up 28.7% from 2005 (pre-FTA).
- The top import categories (2-digit HS) in 2019 were: knit apparel ($2.4 billion), woven apparel ($490 million), electrical machinery ($458 million), edible fruit & nuts (bananas, plantains) ($378 million), and coffee, tea & spice (coffee) ($249 million).
- U.S. total imports of agricultural products from Honduras totaled $812 million in 2019. Leading categories include: unroasted coffee ($246 million), bananas and plantains ($216 million), other fresh fruit ($161 million), processed fruit & vegetables ($57 million), and fresh vegetables ($54 million).
- U.S. imports of services from Honduras were an estimated $765 million in 2019, 7.0% ($50 million) more than 2018, and 67.8% greater than 2009 levels. Leading services imports from Honduras to the U.S. were in the travel, transport, and professional and management services sectors.
Trade Balance
- The U.S. goods trade surplus with Honduras was $616 million in 2019, a 31.6% decrease ($284 million) over 2018.
- The United States has a services trade surplus of an estimated $529 million with Honduras in 2019, down 4.9% from 2018.
Investment
- U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Honduras (stock) was $1.3 billion in 2019, a 50.7% increase from 2018. There is no information on the distribution of U.S. FDI in Honduras.
- No data on Honduras's FDI in the U.S. are available.
- Sales of services in Honduras by majority U.S.-owned affiliates were $607 million in 2017 (latest data available). There were no sales of services in the United States by majority Honduras owned firms in 2017.