El salvador Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in el salvador, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Agreements
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In 1995, El Salvador joined the World Trade Organization. El Salvador’s National Assembly ratified the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement on February 4, 2016. 

On March 1, 2006, the U.S.-Central America Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) entered into force between the United States and the Dominican Republic. As of 2015, all U.S. industrial and commercial goods enter El Salvador duty-free. To learn more about how to benefit from CAFTA-DR, please visit the FTA Help Center.

The General Treaty for Central American Integration, signed on December 13, 1960, created the Central American Common Market (CACM); the treaty was revived in the early 1990s. The five member countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) have agreed on maximum tariffs harmonized with 95% of tariff rates, primarily for industrial goods.

To date, El Salvador has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in force with the Dominican Republic (2001), Chile (2002), Panama (2003), the United States (2006), Colombia (2010), Mexico (2012), and South Korea (2020); and Partial Scope Agreements (PSAs) with Cuba (2012) and Ecuador (2017). In 2010, Central America signed an Association Agreement with the European Union, which included the establishment of a Free Trade Area. The agreement entered into force in August 2013. El Salvador’s National Assembly ratified the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement on February 4, 2016. In 2018, a Partial Scope Agreement was signed with Bolivia, pending ratification. In 2019, Central America signed an Association Agreement with the United Kingdom, which has been in force since January 2021. El Salvador’s National Assembly ratified the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement on February 4, 2016.  El Salvador and Belize completed PSA technical negotiations in October 2024. El Salvador launched FTA negotiations in 2024 with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). After terminating its FTA with Taiwan in 2022, El Salvador launched FTA negotiations with Beijing in 2024; negotiations are off and on.  

There is currently no date to establish a complete Central American Customs Union. There has been some progress on labeling standards and the drafting of the Central American Uniform Customs Code (CAUCA) and its implementing regulations (RECAUCA). Still, the region has yet to address other issues related to creating a complete customs union, such as customs procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, quota management, and intellectual property rights. 

In July 2018, El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly approved the Customs Union adhesion protocol to the “Northern Triangle Customs Union.” In December 2021, a roadmap was approved by the three countries to incorporate El Salvador into the Deep Integration Process. Coffee, sugar, and goods under different rules of origin in FTAs and those with different tariffs have been excluded from the customs union. As of 2025, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have made significant progress toward achieving a comprehensive customs union. Integrated border posts at El Amatillo (on the border with Honduras) and Anguiatú–La Ermita (on the border with Guatemala) are now operational. Additionally, the countries are piloting the Central American Invoice and Single Declaration (FYDUCA), a digital tool designed to unify and simplify trade documentation. FYDUCA is set to become mandatory in January 2026 and is expected to streamline customs clearance, reduce border wait times, and enhance the competitiveness of cross-border trade throughout the region.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Trade Agreements Negotiations and Compliance (TANC) is the gateway to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Trade Agreements Compliance Program, a network of U.S. Commerce Department and other U.S. Government resources working together to reduce or eliminate foreign trade barriers. Upon receiving a complaint, the TANC organizes a case-management team of U.S. government experts, including country, industry, and trade agreement specialists, as well as Commercial Service officers at home and abroad, to assist U.S. firms facing barriers to trade in foreign markets. 

U.S. companies that believe they have a complaint should contact the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Trade Agreements Compliance Program by submitting a trade complaint form. 

Contact information for the TANC:

Trade Agreements Negotiations and Compliance Program
Office of Trade Negotiations and Compliance
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Tel: 202-482-1191
E-mail: tanc@trade.gov 

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