Chile Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in chile, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Barriers
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Chile has very few barriers to imports or investments, largely allowing foreign firms to enjoy the same protections and operate under the same conditions as local firms.

In agriculture, the United States and Chile reached an inspection and certification equivalency systems agreement, which allows each country to export dairy, beef, and poultry products without additional certification. Sanitary restrictions on fresh fruit are slowly being eliminated through ongoing technical exchanges. Agricultural exporters should contact the Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service to confirm any restrictions for specific products before shipping to Chile.

Chilean Customs works to ensure that illegal, counterfeit merchandise or merchandise that puts people’s safety at risk does not enter the country. Some products require special authorizations from other government agencies to enter Chile. For example, animal and plant products, fertilizers and pesticides, and alcohol and tobacco require authorization from Chile’s Agricultural and Livestock Service (www.sag.gob.cl). Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances that cause dependency must have an authorization from the National Health Service under the Ministry of Health. Radio communications equipment requires authorization to use the transmission band from the Undersecretariat of Telecommunications (www.subtel.gob.cl).

Chile only approves the import of processed food products on a case-by-case basis. There is no blanket approval process for permitting identical products from different companies to enter Chile after they have been tested and found in compliance with local health regulations. To bring in a food product, the importer must obtain the permission of the Health Service Officer at the port of entry, which may take samples and perform any necessary tests. Chile is increasingly following international standards such as the Codex Alimentarius. However, a 2015 nutritional labeling law and the 2024 alcoholic beverages law differ significantly from labeling requirements in the U.S. (see details below under Labeling and Marking Requirements). Another distinction is that all labels must be in Spanish; however, regulations from the Ministry of Health allow the importer to place a sticker on a product before the product is sold to the public if the labeling information is in another language. For more information regarding Chile’s labeling requirements, see the Foreign Agricultural Service’s Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards report at USDA Chile website.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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