Uruguay Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in uruguay, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Select Country Guide
Prohibited & Restricted Imports
Last published date:

Occasionally, the government bans imports of certain food articles and pet food containing prohibited ingredients or originating from areas prohibited by the World Health Organization. Uruguay strictly prohibits the following products: paint with excess lead; organic chlorine-based insecticides; potassium bromate for food; used cars; asbestos or products containing asbestos; and certain insecticides-herbicides. The government claims that it eliminated import quotas in the mid-1970s and reduced non-tariff barriers, including reference and minimum import prices, in the 1990s. It eliminated reference prices and the remaining minimum export prices in 1994 and 2002 respectively. Nonetheless, some importers continue to report challenges, including U.S. poultry exporters which have reported difficulty in receiving necessary import documentation from Uruguay since 2023, severely limiting the market to U.S. poultry exports.

Uruguay applies non-automatic import licensing to certain products, such as motor vehicles, sugar, acetic acid, textiles, shoes, and steel for structural uses. Importers should request licenses prior to the product’s arrival in Uruguay to avoid demurrage costs at points of entry. An import license is valid for 60 days (90 days for motor vehicles) after approval.  
For detailed information on import barriers please refer to Uruguay’s WTO trade policy review.

×

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.

Privacy Program | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility