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
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Standards for Trade
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Overview

The Mercosur standards association (Asociación Mercosur de Normalización, AMN) is comprised of the standards setting bodies from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and is located in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The AMN develops voluntary standards through 16 technical committees and harmonizes regional technical regulations with the Mercosur governments. Separate working groups for the telecommunications and healthcare sectors focus on industry specific regulations. Approved Mercosur regulations are not automatically applicable in each country; each country must adopt the given regulations for them to be applicable.  The member countries generally adopt all Mercosur regulations, though at different speeds. 

In Uruguay, UNIT (Instituto Uruguayo de Normas Técnicas) carries out established technical norms and certification procedures and is the exclusive representative of ISO (International Organization for Standardization), IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), and the WQC (World Quality Council) in Uruguay. UNIT mainly transposes standards developed by other organizations such as ISO, IEC, and Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) for the national standardization system. OHSAS is a British standard for occupational health and safety management systems.

Standards and Technical Regulations

LATU (Laboratorio Tecnológico del Uruguay) is the agency officially approved to control standards and quality control of imports and exports. A national quality committee reviews and recommends issuance of ISO 9000/9001 certificates, if warranted. A mix of standards exist in Uruguay; the Automotive Safety Standards Entity (UNASEV) is currently considering the adoption of EU vehicle safety standards. 

Testing, Inspection and Certification

LATU Testing, Inspection, and Certification services in Uruguay are essential for ensuring compliance, quality, and safety across a wide range of industries, including agriculture, marine, manufacturing, and infrastructure. These services are also a key requirement for introducing new products to the market, as they help companies meet regulatory standards and gain market approval. Accredited organizations like LATU provide laboratory testing and calibration services in accordance with international standards such as ISO/IEC 17025, demonstrating technical competence and impartiality in their operations. Inspection bodies in Uruguay often pursue ISO 17020 accreditation, which grants global recognition and assures clients of reliable, standardized inspection practices, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing risks. Additionally, certification services—such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and HACCP—are widely sought after by Uruguayan companies to improve credibility, meet regulatory requirements, and gain eligibility for both local and international tenders. 

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify the WTO of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that may impact trade.  Notify U.S. is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Users receive personalized e-mail alerts tailored to their selected countries and industry sector(s), with the option to request full texts of regulations. This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point, housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Publication of Technical Regulations

The national gazette publishing new regulations is the Diario Oficial. The comment period for new regulations generally lasts 2-3 months but may vary.  U.S. entities can comment by contacting the unit or Ministry that led the initiative.  For contacts you can reach Commercial Services in Montevideo at Office.Montevideo@state.gov 


Contact Information

Contact information for the Regional Standards Attaché can be found here.
Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. 
The ePing SPS&TBT platform or “ePing,” provides access to notifications made by Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to presenton 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.