Laos Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in laos, 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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Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade 

Overview

Although no specific law exists to regulate imports and exports, the Lao PDR Service Portal, maintained by the Ministry for Industry and Commerce provides information regarding the latest government decrees pertaining to imports and exports, for example, the Decree on Import and Export of Goods No. 114/GoL and Decree on Import Licensing Procedures No. 180/PM, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. 

Laos’s Government Decree No. 470 of 2019 on the management of land vehicles requires that imported vehicles, registered and used in Laos, meet regional and international standards and are in accordance with the international obligations of Laos. Under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Mutual Recognition Agreement on Type Approval for Automotive Products, ASEAN members established a procedure for accepting or recognizing conformity assessment results with reference to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) 1958 Agreement regulations.  

On August 6, 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos imposed a temporary halt on the importation of light motor vehicles including SUVs, sedans, vans, and pickup trucks with a CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) valued at over $50,000. Light motor vehicles worth more than $50,000 imported for essential work or related to international obligations, such as those for government use, embassies, or international organizations, are allowed with government approval. According to the Lao PDR government, “the temporary suspension will be effective from August 20 to December 31, 2024, or until further notice.”  The suspension remains in effect to date.

Standards and Technical Regulations

Laos currently has no independent standards organizations.  In 2011, the Department of Standards and Metrology was established as an independent department alongside the Department of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology. However, MOIC currently supervises these departments as the Ministry of Science and Technology was dissolved. In 2014, Laos passed the Law on Standards; updates and decrees related to this law are available through the Lao PDR Service Portal. 

Testing, Inspection and Certification

The Department of Standards and Metrology is responsible for conformity assessment and product certification.

Publication of Technical Regulations

Laos currently does not publish technical regulations with regularity.  The Electronic Official Gazette contains some, but not all, laws and regulations.  Many laws and regulations are only available in the Lao language.

Contact Information

Department of Standards and Metrology:  Department of Intellectual Property. 

Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. 

The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing,” provides access to notifications made by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995, to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and is a versatile tool that can be used to:  

•    Follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest,
•    Receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are distributed,
•    Find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees. 

Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates an Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat. All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://www.nist.gov/notifyus/commenting for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in the preparation and submission of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

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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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