Guatemala Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in guatemala, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Standards for Trade
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Standards

In general, U.S. standards set the pace for Guatemalan standards.  Many products made in the U.S. already meet Guatemala’s standards. The main area of difference is found in items intended for human consumption, such as pharmaceuticals and food. In Guatemala, registration and labeling requirements for these cases require U.S. exporters to follow strict local guidelines.

The United States actively serves as a resource to assist Guatemala in developing or streamlining standards. The objectives of Chapter 7 (Technical Barriers to Trade) in the CAFTA-DR agreement are to: increase and facilitate trade through improvement to the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreement and eliminate unnecessary barriers and enhance bilateral cooperation.  Read more on Technical Barriers to Trade under CAFTA-DR.

Food Products

Products labeled as “diet supplements”, “homeopathic”, “and prophylactic” or “phyto-therapeutic” must be registered as medicines. All products that apply for registration must be tested by the Health National Laboratory (LNS), which is the Ministry of Health’s only laboratory. Product samples must be provided at time of registration. 

RTCA 67.01.15:07 rules fortified wheat flour, providing specifications and approved additives for wheat flour.

Testing, Inspection and Certification

What is the general approach to product testing? Can most products enter the market freely? Which must be tested?

Guatemala requires that processed animal origin food be tested at the Ministry of Health’s official laboratory prior to marketing. This test may take 1-3 months after which a registration will be issued.  The registration allows for commercialization of the product and needs to be renewed every five years.  Processed food is randomly inspected at the point of sale, but Guatemala does not carry out inspection or certification at origin.  For fresh produce or non-processed meat, OIRSA inspects at port if fresh or refrigerated, mostly for quarantine pests or ISMF-15 stamp. No food safety inspection is carried at the port of entry.

Contact Information

Interested parties may contact Agricutural Specialist Karla Tay at KayTM@state.gov or Commercial Specialist Antonio Prieto at antonio.prieto@trade.gov.

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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.

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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.

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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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