In 2022, Costa Rica's government attempted to combat food price inflation by reducing tariffs on rice, only to inadvertently harm local and U.S. rice farmers by allowing cheap South American rice to flood the market. The initial reduction of tariffs from 35% to 3.5% and 4% for rough and milled rice, respectively, along with a 1% import tax, resulted in a significant drop in U.S. rice exports and a sharp decline in domestic production in Costa Rica. Following complaints from local farmers, the Executive Decree was suspended, and import tariffs were restored at 35% for third-country origin rice. As Costa Rica enters the nineteenth year of the CAFTA-DR free trade agreement, which will eliminate the quota and import tax on U.S. rice in 2025, the country faces challenges in trade facilitation due to a cyber-attack on the Ministry of Foreign Trade's computer systems, leading to a gap in official data and potential delays in U.S. rice exports. Despite these challenges, there is optimism for the future of U.S. rice exports in Costa Rica.