Trade agreements and market access

Surinamese goods enter the other CARICOM countries duty free and the European Union and United Kingdom duty and quota free, if they meet the rules of origin and you send proof of origin. There are also smaller agreements with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and northern Brazil. Suriname has no free trade with the United States, China or India: there you pay the normal rate.

On this page (14)

• Which agreements apply to Suriname?
• CARICOM and the CSME
• European Union: the EPA
• United Kingdom
• Other agreements through CARICOM
• United States
• The neighbours: Guyana, French Guiana and Brazil
• China, India and Indonesia
• Step by step: getting the preferential rate
• Export and trade promotion support
• Checklist for your first export order
• What if...
• Sources
• Frequently asked questions

Which agreements apply to Suriname?

The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation (EZOTI) lists in its Import-Export Guide (2024) the agreements to which Suriname is a party and that give Surinamese businesses a preference. In summary:

Market	Agreement	What you get	Proof of origin
CARICOM	Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (CSME)	No duty on goods of CARICOM origin; also services and establishment	CARICOM certificate of origin and CARICOM invoice
European Union	CARIFORUM-EU EPA (2008)	Duty and quota free for all goods of CARIFORUM origin; also services	EUR.1 or origin declaration on the invoice
United Kingdom	CARIFORUM-UK EPA (Suriname signed on 4 March 2021)	The same access as under the EU EPA	EUR.1 or origin declaration
Dominican Republic, Cuba, Costa Rica	CARICOM agreements (1998, 2000, 2004)	Lower or no duty on a list of goods	Certificate under the agreement concerned
Northern Brazil	Partial Scope Agreement for rice	Tariff concessions for Surinamese rice	Ask EZOTI
Indonesia	Suriname-Indonesia trade agreement	Access for goods for exhibitions and trade fairs	Ask EZOTI
Rest of the world	WTO, most-favoured nation	The destination country's normal (MFN) rate	Sometimes a non-preferential certificate of origin

Suriname has been a party to the GATT since 25 February 1978 and is an original member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This means every WTO country gives Surinamese goods at least the rate it gives other WTO members. An agreement on paper is not the same as a benefit in practice: check per product and per country the gap between the normal and the preferential rate, and whether you can meet the rules of origin.

CARICOM and the CSME

Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), set up by the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (2001). The single market works; the "single economy" (joint economic policy) is not finished.

Free movement of goods

• No import duty on goods of CARICOM origin. In return, Suriname itself gives free access to goods from CARICOM. See Importing goods.
• Origin. A product is a CARICOM good if it is wholly obtained in the region (crops, fish, minerals), or if foreign materials are sufficiently processed. This is usually tested by a change of tariff heading (HS code), a required process or a minimum share of regional materials. Repacking, mixing or labelling is not enough.
• Common External Tariff (CET). CARICOM countries charge the same tariff on goods from outside the region, with exception lists per country. That makes your product competitive in the region against imports from outside.
• Other requirements still apply. You still need the destination country's phytosanitary and veterinary certificates, labels and standards. The 2019 WTO review reports that Surinamese products sometimes run into such barriers in other CARICOM countries. Check the requirements with your customer or the customs service there before you ship.

Certificate of origin for CARICOM

For the zero rate your customer needs a CARICOM certificate of origin and a CARICOM invoice. According to the WTO Trade Policy Review of Suriname (2019), the KKF (Chamber of Commerce and Industry) is responsible for certificates of origin for exports to CARICOM, and Customs for all other certificates of origin. Official EZOTI guides do not name the issuer, so call the KKF before you plan your first shipment and ask which documents to bring (usually a cost breakdown or production statement that shows the origin).

Free movement of people and services

Under the CSME, certain groups of CARICOM nationals may work in another member state without a work permit with a CARICOM Skills Certificate. In Suriname this is governed by the Skilled CARICOM Nationals Act (Wet Bekwame Burgers Caricom, S.B. 2006 no. 19, amended by S.B. 2008 no. 29). The Act lists university graduates, media workers, sportspeople, musicians, artists, teachers, nurses and nursing assistants. In 2018 the heads of government agreed to add agricultural workers, beauty service practitioners, barbers and security guards; Suriname drafted an amendment for this. Ask the ministry responsible for labour (since July 2025 Health, Welfare and Labour) which categories apply now. An advisory commission of the ministry handles applications.

Full free movement, without a certificate and for an indefinite period, has applied since 1 October 2025 only between Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines. According to the CARICOM Secretariat, about 900 CARICOM nationals received indefinite stay there in the first year. Suriname does not take part (October 2026). If you want to hire someone from the region: Work and residence permits.

European Union: the EPA

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and CARIFORUM (CARICOM plus the Dominican Republic) was signed in 2008 and has been provisionally applied since 29 December 2008. According to the 2019 WTO review, Suriname then applied the EPA provisionally, pending ratification.

• Goods. All goods of CARIFORUM origin enter the EU duty and quota free. Rice and sugar had a transition period; rice has been fully free since 1 January 2010 and sugar since 2015.
• Services and investment. The EPA also covers services, investment, intellectual property and public procurement. For service providers, what is open depends on the EU country and the sector.
• Proof of origin. An EUR.1 certificate, issued by Customs at export, or an origin declaration by the exporter on the invoice for shipments up to EUR 6,000 (above that only as an approved exporter). The proof is valid for ten months. The rules of origin per product are in the protocol to the EPA; Access2Markets shows them.
• French Guiana is part of the EU. A shipment across the Marowijne (Maroni) to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is therefore an export to the EU: the EPA and EU requirements apply. French Guiana also charges its own local tax on imports (octroi de mer); ask your buyer what it means for your product.

A zero tariff does not mean everything is open. Food, plants, fish and timber must meet European rules on food safety, residues, labelling and deforestation, and more and more customers ask for evidence on cybersecurity and working conditions. That is covered in EU rules for Surinamese suppliers. The procedure in Suriname itself (certificates, export declaration, the 35% foreign exchange rule) is in Exporting from Suriname.

United Kingdom

After Brexit the UK concluded its own EPA with CARIFORUM, giving the same access as under the EU EPA. Suriname signed it on 4 March 2021, later than the other countries. Between 1 January 2021 and the signature, Suriname and the UK traded on WTO terms. According to the UK government, Suriname has been covered by the agreement since April 2021. Proof of origin is again an EUR.1 or an origin declaration. Look up the UK rate in the UK Trade Tariff.

Other agreements through CARICOM

CARICOM concluded agreements with five countries in the region. They work with a list of goods and their own rules of origin, and not every CARICOM country applies them:

• Dominican Republic (free trade agreement, 1998) and Cuba (trade and economic cooperation, 2000): on EZOTI's list. Suriname also gives goods from these countries a preference.
• Costa Rica (free trade agreement, 2004): on EZOTI's list. The trade portal of the Organization of American States (SICE) only shows an entry-into-force date for Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Ask EZOTI whether Costa Rica admits your product at a preferential rate before you count on it.
• Venezuela (1992) and Colombia (1994): not on EZOTI's list. The reciprocal tariff cuts with Colombia apply to Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

EZOTI's International Trade sub-directorate keeps track of trade agreements and can tell you per product what applies.

United States

Suriname has no trade agreement with the US. Two things you may hear about do not apply to Suriname:

• Caribbean Basin Initiative. According to the US Trade Representative (USTR) there are 17 beneficiaries under CBERA and 8 under CBTPA, including Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Suriname is not among them.
• GSP. The US Generalized System of Preferences lapsed on 31 December 2020. In June 2026 a renewal bill was still before Congress; we found no renewal.

Surinamese goods therefore pay the normal rate from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) in the US. Since 2025 the US has also introduced additional import tariffs whose level and legal basis have changed several times. Have your US buyer or their customs broker confirm the current rate for your HS code before you agree a price.

The neighbours: Guyana, French Guiana and Brazil

Guyana

Guyana is a CARICOM partner: goods of CARICOM origin cross the border duty free, with a certificate of origin. Traffic goes by the ferry across the Corantijn (Corentyne) between South Drain (Nickerie) and Moleson Creek. Two developments in 2026:

• Corentyne bridge. The two governments were working on a joint bridge of about 3.1 km. In late June 2026 Public Works Minister Tsang told the National Assembly that Suriname wants to finance and manage the bridge itself, probably with a new international tender. Guyana's President Ali replied that Guyana only recognises the existing bilateral treaties. For now, plan on the ferry.
• Shipping on the Corentyne. In April 2026 Guyanese chambers of commerce protested against charges Suriname levies on Guyanese cargo vessels on the river. According to the Surinamese government, the rules are not new and Guyana can request exemptions through diplomatic channels.

Since March 2022 the business organisations of both countries have a joint Guyana Suriname Private Sector Business Council, formed by Guyana's Private Sector Commission and the VSB (Suriname Trade and Industry Association). There is also a Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce with an office in Paramaribo (see below).

French Guiana and France

French Guiana is European territory. Trade across the Marowijne between Albina and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is therefore trade with the EU, with EU customs, EU product rules and the octroi de mer. There is a political debate about the border itself: in 2021 Suriname and France signed a border protocol that builds on the 1915 Treaty of Paris and fixes the border along the Marowijne and Lawa rivers. The approval bill has been before the National Assembly since December 2021. In late July 2026 Speaker Adhin postponed the debate so that traditional authorities could be heard first in krutu meetings, and in early August 2026 coalition party ABOP announced it would vote against. The protocol also covers joint management of both rivers and development of the border area. At the time of writing, as far as we know, the protocol had not yet been ratified.

Brazil

There is no general free trade agreement with Brazil. There is a Partial Scope Agreement with tariff concessions for rice to northern Brazil. Suriname has been an associate member of Mercosur since 2013; that does not give free market access, and full membership would first require joining ALADI. There is no road link with Brazil.

China, India and Indonesia

Suriname has no trade agreement with China or India: you pay those countries' normal WTO rate, and your customer must meet their import requirements (registration of food producers, phytosanitary rules). With Indonesia there is a trade agreement that, according to EZOTI, gives access for goods intended for exhibitions and trade fairs, plus an investment protection agreement signed in 1995. Suriname also signed investment protection agreements with Cuba (1999), the Netherlands (2005) and Brazil (2018); see Investing in Suriname.

Step by step: getting the preferential rate

1. Determine your product's HS code. Your customs broker or Customs can help. Everything depends on that code: tariff, rule of origin and requirements. Customs exchange rate
2. Look up the tariff and the rule of origin. EU: Access2Markets (choose Suriname as country of origin). UK: UK Trade Tariff. US: HTS. CARICOM: ask the destination country's customs service or your customer.
3. Test your product against the rule of origin. If you use imported materials, make a cost breakdown per product: which materials, from which country, with which HS code, and what processing you do in Suriname.
4. Apply for the proof of origin. For CARICOM at the KKF (according to the 2019 WTO review), for the EU and UK the EUR.1 at Customs, together with your export declaration. For small EU and UK shipments up to EUR 6,000 an origin declaration on the invoice can be enough.
5. Send the original with the commercial invoice (for CARICOM the CARICOM invoice) and the transport documents. Invoice generator · Proforma invoice
6. Keep everything. The destination country's customs can check afterwards whether your product is really Surinamese. Without records your customer may still have to pay the full rate.

Export and trade promotion support

• EZOTI: the International Trade sub-directorate for trade agreements and CSME policy; the IUD for licences.
• SITA (Suriname Investment and Trade Agency): export and investment promotion, with grants for export marketing. Details in Exporting from Suriname.
• KKF: extracts, trade fairs, information for exporters and the CARICOM certificate of origin.
• Caribbean Export Development Agency: the regional export and investment promotion agency of the CARIFORUM countries, with training, trade fairs and grant programmes.
• Embassies and trade offices of your target market. For the Netherlands, RVO publishes the export rules for Suriname and, for questions on import duties, refers to the Suriname-Netherlands chamber in The Hague.

Bilateral chambers and business councils

We were able to confirm these organisations:

• Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce (SGCC): chamber for trade between the two countries, with an office on Verlengde Gemenelandsweg in Paramaribo and one in Guyana. Runs, among other things, webinars for businesses from both countries. surguychamber.org
• Guyana Suriname Private Sector Business Council: set up in March 2022 by Guyana's Private Sector Commission and the VSB, with ten members from both countries, to strengthen economic ties and mutual investment.
• American Chamber of Commerce of Suriname (AmCham Suriname): brings Surinamese and US companies together and meets with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation.
• Suriname-Netherlands Chamber of Commerce: founded in 2018 at the Surinamese embassy in The Hague to promote trade between the two countries.

Other bilateral chambers mentioned online could not be confirmed from an official source. General business organisations in Suriname are listed in Business associations.

Checklist for your first export order

• HS code of your product determined and checked by your broker
• Tariff in the destination country looked up: normal rate and preferential rate
• Rule of origin tested, with a cost breakdown and a list of materials per country
• Proof of origin arranged: KKF (CARICOM) or Customs (EUR.1)
• Product certificates for the destination country: phytosanitary, veterinary, health, label
• For the EU: the extra requirements in EU rules for Surinamese suppliers checked
• Delivery term (Incoterm) and payment agreed, taking the 35% foreign exchange rule into account
• Copy of all documents kept per shipment

What if...

• ...my product partly consists of imported materials? It depends on the rule of origin for your HS code. Processing that changes the tariff heading often counts. Have it checked before you quote a price that assumes the preferential rate.
• ...customs in another CARICOM country rejects my certificate? Ask for the reason in writing, have your customer object, and involve EZOTI. Trade problems within the CSME can be raised with CARICOM through the government.
• ...I export services? There is no certificate of origin for services. The CSME and the EPAs do open markets for services, but this differs by country and sector. Surinamese rules for service exports (0% VAT, foreign exchange) are in Exporting from Suriname.
• ...I mainly want to import? See Importing goods and work out your shipment with the Import cost calculator.

Sources

• EZOTI: Suriname Import-Export Gids (2024), handelsovereenkomsten
• WTO: Trade Policy Review Suriname, WT/TPR/S/391 (2019)
• Europese Commissie, Access2Markets: EPA EU-CARIFORUM
• UK government: Suriname signs CARIFORUM-UK EPA (4 March 2021)
• UK government: summary of the CARIFORUM-UK EPA
• UK Trade Tariff
• USTR: Caribbean Basin Initiative, beneficiary countries
• LandedFees: GSP renewal status (June 2026)
• USITC: Harmonized Tariff Schedule
• OAS SICE: CARICOM-Costa Rica agreement
• Barbados Ministry of Foreign Affairs: CARICOM-Colombia agreement
• Ontwerpwet wijziging Wet Bekwame Burgers van de Caricom (S.B. 2006 no. 19)
• ILO: The system of labour administration in Suriname (2022), Commission on the Free Movement of CARICOM Skilled Nationals
• CARICOM: free movement news (October 2026)
• Breaking Belize News: CARICOM free movement (July 2026)
• Kaieteur News: Corentyne bridge (1 July 2026)
• Demerara Waves: charges on Guyanese cargo vessels (3 April 2026)
• Starnieuws: behandeling grensprotocol uitgesteld (29 July 2026)
• Starnieuws: ABOP stemt tegen grensprotocol (2 August 2026)
• DPI Guyana: Guyana Suriname Private Sector Business Council (March 2022)
• Key News Suriname: American Chamber Suriname (February 2024)
• RVO: exportregels en producteisen Suriname
• Caribbean Export Development Agency
• SITA: Suriname Investment and Trade Agency

Checked on 26 October 2026. General information, not legal or customs advice. Have tariffs and origin confirmed per shipment.