The EU agreement changed the arithmetic. And the region's supply voltage changes the project.
Central America has an advantage almost nobody uses: a trade agreement with the European Union that, on paper, lets European machinery in without paying any duty. And it has a technical obstacle almost nobody anticipates: an electrical supply that looks nothing like the European one.
Both are decided before you buy. That is what this guide is about.
The EU–Central America Association Agreement covers six countries. Its trade pillar entered into force on 1 August 2013 for Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama; on 1 October 2013 for Costa Rica and El Salvador; and on 1 December 2013 for Guatemala.
What matters to you: the agreement provided for Central America to give duty-free access to all industrial products of European origin by 2025. That timetable has now run its course. In practice, an industrial machine built in the EU should today enter any of those six countries at zero tariff.
That is an enormous difference against buying the same machine from another origin. But there is small print, and it comes in three parts.
The preference does not apply by itself. You have to show the goods originate in the EU, and there are only two ways to do it:
Without one of the two, the shipment pays the standard tariff. It is a piece of paper, it costs little, and it is requested before shipment. Asking for it afterwards, with the machine already at the port, is a race against the clock.
This is the trap that costs the most money and the one almost nobody sees coming. Rules of origin look at where the machine was built, not where it has been working.
A lathe built in Germany that has spent twenty years in a Spanish factory originates in the EU. A machine built in Japan, in Taiwan or in the United States, which has spent the last fifteen years in Italy, does not originate in the EU, however Italian the port it sails from. There is no preference there and the tariff is the standard one.
So in a sale into Central America, the question “where was this machine built?” is not technical curiosity: it is a line in the budget. It is answered from the nameplate and from the manufacturer, before the price is negotiated.
Zero tariff means you do not pay the import duty. It does not mean the machine comes in paying nothing. Clearance still brings the country's value added tax — IVA, ISV or ITBMS depending on where you are — and the corresponding port and customs fees and services.
We deliberately give no percentages here: they change, and they depend on the country and the tariff heading. Your customs broker will work them out in five minutes on the real value of your deal, and that figure is the one worth having.
Since May 2019, Central America declares its foreign trade on the Central American Single Declaration. It comes in three forms and it is worth knowing which is yours:
That last case is more common than it sounds in a region where the large ports are concentrated: we cover it in the shipping guide.
This is where many projects come unstuck. A European industrial machine leaves the factory set up for 400 V three-phase at 50 Hz. In Central America you will find, depending on the country and the installation:
In other words: it is not only the frequency that changes, as in South America. The voltage changes too, and by a lot. Going from 400 V to 208 V is not an adjustment; it is a transformer. And going from 50 to 60 Hz alters the speed of motors connected directly to the supply.
The good news: industrial installations in the region running at 480 V are relatively close to the European world and the jump is more manageable. The bad news: if your shop is on 208 V, the machine needs a step-up transformer sized for its real load, and that has to be budgeted before buying, not after.
How each case is solved — a frequency converter, a motor change, a transformer, or nothing at all if the machine already runs on electronic drives — is set out in detail in the 50 and 60 Hz guide.
We identify the machine by make, model, serial number, year and country of manufacture, which in a Central American deal is an economic fact and not just a technical one. We gather the nameplate, the technical documentation and the real electrical data, and we coordinate with the seller on issuing the proof of origin where it applies.
We do not act as exporter, importer or customs agent, and we do not issue the EUR.1 ourselves: it is issued by the customs authority of the seller's country at the seller's request. What we do is make sure it arrives on time and with the right details.
For the journey, shipping a machine from Europe to Central America. For the electrical side in depth, 50 Hz and 60 Hz. For how the costs are split, the Incoterms. And to check out the seller without travelling, how to verify it all remotely.
Information current as of September 2026 and cited with its source regulation. Phase-out schedules, tariff headings and origin requirements apply case by case: this guide is indicative and does not constitute customs, legal or tax advice. Always verify with a licensed customs broker in your country and against your equipment's specific tariff heading.