Trump’s tariffs caused Puerto Rico to pay close to $1 billion in 2025

According to a 2026 analysis by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Puerto Rico paid $919.7 million in tariffs in 2025, nearly four times the $236.6 million recorded the previous year. (Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics)

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico absorbed one of its steepest tariff shocks in more than a decade last year, as federal trade policies under President Donald Trump dramatically reshaped the cost of importing goods into the island, according to a report from Estudios Técnicos.

Citing a 2026 analysis by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, the U.S. territory paid $919.7 million in tariffs in 2025, nearly four times the $236.6 million recorded the previous year. The surge reflects the sweeping tariff actions implemented throughout 2025, when the White House expanded duties to cover 54% of all U.S. imports, using a mix of trade statutes including Sections 122, 301, 201 and 232 of federal commercial law.

The policy shift relied heavily on emergency powers such as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a tool the U.S. Supreme Court struck down on Feb. 20 of this year. Even so, other trade authorities kept most tariffs in place through the end of 2025.

For Puerto Rico, the impact was immediate. The island’s effective tariff rate jumped from 1.17% in 2024 to 4.81% in 2025, a 311% increase. By comparison, the U.S. effective tariff rate climbed from 2.4% to 9.84% over the same period, according to Estudios Técnicos. 

The spike hit certain sectors disproportionately. Agricultural imports, critical for an island that relies heavily on food brought from abroad, saw their average effective tariff rate soar 584%, rising from 1.24% to 7.24%. The Institute of Statistics noted that tariff pressures rippled through construction materials, manufactured goods and food products, contributing to higher consumer prices.

The burden was also uneven across trading partners. The countries generating the highest tariff costs for Puerto Rico in 2025 were China, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Brazil, Germany, France and Vietnam -- all major sources of goods for the island’s supply chain.

Although the Supreme Court’s invalidation of IEEPA removed one of the administration’s key tariff mechanisms, analysts expect the effects of the trade war to persist. The institute projects that Puerto Rico’s average effective tariff rate could ease slightly this year, settling between 6.6% and 7.2%, but warns that elevated import costs will continue to influence prices across essential goods.