JULY 2025
Economic pulse of the Americas:
How dependent is Latin America on taxes on international trade? The economies of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) historically have relied more on taxes on international trade than peer upper-middle-income countries. The challenge is that further reducing barriers to trade (essential for investment) also has implications for balancing government spending. Taxes on international trade as a percent of revenue (1998 vs. 2023)
made in reducing duties since the
8%
Share of revenue
Although much progress has been liberalization reforms of the 1990s, some countries still rely more on
6%
duties on imports and exports than their income peers, but that varies
4%
greatly country by country. So,
2%
how
do
different
countries
compare in their reliance on those 0%
trade 1998
2023
Source: IMF Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and related data files. Notes: Includes both taxes on imports as well as exports and other indirect duties as a percent of government revenue.
duties
as
a
government revenue?
source
of