Ease of doing business
theboardiQ Tariffs Dashboard:
Powering Mutually Beneficial Global Trade.
Understand the complexities of international tariffs and ease of doing business across nations to cultivate balanced trade relationships, streamline operations, and deliver cost savings to end consumers.
Implications
The current status for Sint Maarten is defined by the new global and regional US tariff policy that began in 2025, which has significantly altered the island's trade relationship with its primary partner, the United States.
Here is an update on US Tariffs, Deals, and Companies Impact for Sint Maarten as of October 2025:
US Tariffs and Deals Update - Sint Maarten
Area | Status (October 2025) | Key Details for Sint Maarten |
Current US Tariff Rate | Minimum 10% (Implemented) | Sint Maarten is subject to the new universal 10% baseline reciprocal tariff imposed by the US on most global imports since April 2025. |
Trade Program Status | Caribbean Basin Country | Sint Maarten is recognized as a Caribbean Basin country under the US Trade Agreements Act (TAA), which typically provides trade preferences. However, the new universal tariffs largely supersede or complicate these existing preferences. |
Specific Trade Deals | No New Special Deal | Sint Maarten is not one of the countries (like the UK, EU, or Japan) that has been reported to have reached a separate, specific trade agreement with the US to cap or reduce the new IEEPA-based tariffs. |
De Minimis Exemption | Suspended (Implemented) | The US ended the $800 de minimis duty-free exemption globally in August 2025, meaning every shipment from Sint Maarten, regardless of its low value, is now subject to applicable duties and customs clearance. |
Companies and Economic Impact
Sint Maarten's economy is heavily dependent on trade and tourism with the United States, making it highly vulnerable to the new trade environment.
Impact Area | Details and Affected Sectors |
Direct Import Costs | The 10% US tariff applies to goods exported from Sint Maarten to the US, which are relatively few. However, as the US is the main source of goods for Sint Maarten (accounting for over 50% of its total trade), goods imported into Sint Maarten from the US (or products manufactured elsewhere but shipped via the US) are already facing increased costs due to the universal tariffs. |
Consumer Prices | Economists for the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) and local trade associations have warned that higher US import costs will likely be passed on to Sint Maarten consumers as price hikes for virtually all consumer goods and supplies, driving up local inflation. |
Tourism Sector | This is the most significant indirect impact. The tariffs' effect on the US economy—including inflation, reduced GDP, and a possible recession—is expected to reduce American discretionary spending, leading to fewer US tourists visiting the island. A decline in tourism would severely impact the island's primary revenue stream. |
US Companies Impacted | Not applicable as exporters to the US: Sint Maarten has a small manufacturing sector, so the direct impact on large US corporations importing goods from the island is negligible. |
Applicable as suppliers to Sint Maarten: US exporters of essential goods, food, construction materials, and supplies to Sint Maarten are affected by the disruption and administrative costs of the new global US tariff system and the suspended de minimis rule. |
US Revised Tariffs
Country Tariffs
Balance of Trade
Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in countries, prepared by U.S. Embassies worldwide, Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Tariff Rate for US
World Bank staff estimates using the World Integrated Trade Solution system, based on tariff data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's Trade Analysis and Information System ( TRAINS ) database and global imports data from the United Nations Statistics Division's Comtrade database.
US Imports Guide
United States Imports from Countries during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. United States Imports from Countries- data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on April of 2025.
Investing in USA
theboardiQ Economic Relevance Score, ranks States of USA based on 11 parameters
Sources : Forbes | USDA Economic Research | TCGen Total Innovation Rank Index | Best States for Manufacturing | World Population Review | Tax Foundation | US News | BEA Data | Wikipedia | International Trade Administration
theboardiQ's Economic Relevance Score provides a comprehensive, data-driven assessment of a nation's economic vitality and global significance. This score is meticulously calculated using 11 key parameters, each reflecting a critical facet of economic performance. It analyzes the representation of Fortune 500 companies within a nation, a strong indicator of its business environment and market size. The balance of trade surplus or deficit reveals the nation's international competitiveness and export strength. It incorporates Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a fundamental measure of overall economic output, and examine the health of key sectors like agriculture and manufacturing. The score also accounts for innovation, gauging a nation's ability to drive future growth through technological advancements. Crucial labor market indicators such as employment rates are considered, alongside fiscal policies reflected in tax rates. To capture the lived experience of citizens, it assesses cost of living and disposable income, providing insight into purchasing power and economic well-being. Finally, education levels are integrated, recognizing their pivotal role in fostering a skilled workforce and driving long-term economic development. By synthesizing these 11 parameters, theboardiQ's Economic Relevance Score delivers a nuanced and holistic view of a nation's economic standing, enabling informed strategic decisions. The Top 5 States in the assessment are Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Washington. Texas does consistently well across most of the 11 variables especially in the areas of GDP, F500 representation in the State, Balance of Trade where it ranks 2nd nationally. North Carolina scores as the highest-ranking state nationally in manufacturing and performs consistently across the other variables. Virginia does well in disposable income where it ranks 3rd nationally. It also scores high in the variables of manufacturing and employment Florida holds the 4th ranking nationally for GDP and Tax Washington State scores the top spot for disposable income nationally, 2nd for education and 3rd for innovation. Colorado, with an overall rank of 7 scores the top spot for Education (schools and higher education). Nebraska, that ranked 10th overall, did well in Agriculture where it is ranked 3rd nationally as well as Trade Balance where it ranked 5th. Illinois, though ranked 20th overall did well nationally in F500 representation, GDP, Agriculture, and Disposable Income. Pennsylvania comes in at 21 overall doing well nationally in GDP (6th); Manufacturing (8th) and F500 representation (8th) New York scores 23rd overall with a 2 ranking in Disposable Income nationally, as well as 3rd in both F500 representation and GDP. California comes in at 29th overall and has the top spot ranking in a whopping 4 variables nationally – GDP, Innovation, Agriculture and F500 representation. However, performance in the areas of Trade Balance, Cost of Living, Tax, Manufacturing and Employment resulted in the overall ranking dipping. Wyoming at 30th overall scores the top spot nationally in the area of Tax Massachusetts at 31 overall does well in innovation where it is ranked 2nd nationally Arkansas at 36 and Alabama at 39, do well in overall Cost of Living where they are ranked 2nd and 3rd nationally, respectively. Louisiana ranked 44th overall is ranked 1st in Trade Balance nationally.
Economic
Relevance
Ranking
State | Info | Overall Rank | Agri | Innov | Mfg | Employ | Tax | Edu | GDP | F500 Rep | Trade Balance | Cost of Living | Disp Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Texas | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 13 | |
North Carolina | 2 | 9 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 28 | 11 | 16 | 41 | 17 | 17 | |
Virginia | 3 | 32 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 28 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 34 | 35 | 3 | |
Florida | 4 | 21 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 7 | 40 | 30 | 37 | |
Washington | 5 | 16 | 3 | 36 | 28 | 45 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 43 | 1 | |
Missouri | 6 | 11 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 13 | 32 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 10 | 20 | |
Georgia | 7 | 15 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 34 | 8 | 9 | 43 | 26 | 19 | |
Minnesota | 8 | 6 | 10 | 47 | 6 | 44 | 8 | 20 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 9 | |
Ohio | 9 | 12 | 32 | 7 | 30 | 35 | 36 | 7 | 5 | 38 | 15 | 11 | |
Illinois | 10 | 5 | 23 | 31 | 23 | 37 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 47 | 32 | 7 |