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.