Paraguay Member profile
Status of notification in the reporting periods
2010-2012
2012-2014
2014-2016
2016-2018
2018-2020
2020-2022
2022-2024
2024-2026
Notification information
Types of restrictions
All biennial periods and all notifications
Top 10 HS chapters notified
All biennial periods and all notifications
Top 10 WTO justifications notified
All biennial periods and all notifications
Top 10 Non-WTO commitments notified
All biennial periods and all notifications
QR details
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Trade policy review
Latest Trade Policy Review (Report by the WTO Secretariat): WT/TPR/S/463/Rev.1
A. Import prohibitions and restrictions and import licensing
3.50.
The Executive may impose prohibitions or restrictions on imports (or exports) to protect the environment, public health or national security, or to comply with commitments under international agreements. The Customs Code also provides for the application of prohibitions or restrictions on economic grounds. Currently, 338 tariff lines at the HS eight-digit level are subject to import prohibitions (Table 3.7). Source: WTO Secretariat calculations, based on data provided by the authorities.
3.51.
In Paraguay, import licences are administered by the following agencies: the MIC Under-Secretariat for Trade; the National Food and Nutrition Institute (INAN), the National Health Monitoring Directorate (DINAVISA) and the Central Laboratory of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare; the National Plant and Seed Quality and Health Service (SENAVE); the National Animal Quality and Health Service (SENACSA); and the Secretariat for the Environment (SEAM). Although Paraguay's most recent notification to the WTO on import licensing dates back to 2018, the authorities have indicated that the regime has not undergone any substantial modification during the review period. There have nonetheless been changes with respect to the products subject to licensing. For example, new licences have been imposed on products such as Portland cement and special cements; mobile cellular telephones, parts and motherboards; incandescent and fluorescent lamps; polyethylene bags; protective helmets; cells and batteries; liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (Table A3.3).[194] In addition to an import licence, specific registration is required for certain products.[195]
3.52.
Paraguay continues to make use of automatic and non-automatic import licensing. Automatic licences are granted upon compliance with legal requirements and the procedure is not intended to restrict imports in terms of quantity or value; rather, it serves a purely statistical purpose. The information that must be provided in applications varies depending on the body issuing the licence, while the period of validity of licences depends on the product. Each licence costs the equivalent of seven daily wage units.[196] Licences are non-transferable. Non-automatic licences are used, inter alia, to protect health, monitor traceability and allocate import quotas. Importers applying for non-automatic licences must register with the GGA Register of Importers and be listed on the importer registers kept by the relevant responsible agencies.[197] In some cases, other permits must be obtained prior to obtaining a non-automatic import licence.
B. Export prohibitions and restrictions
3.70.
Paraguay prohibits or restricts the export of certain products, generally in order to protect the environment or public health, or to comply with its commitments under international agreements, such as the Basel Convention and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In order to export certain products, a licence must be obtained in advance, which in some cases requires registration with the MIC or other institutions (Table 3.10). Since 2020, the export of wood in the rough or semi-processed (roundwood, logs or beams) from exotic plantations has been permitted, subject to prior authorization by INFONA. Source: WTO document WT/TPR/S/360/Rev.1 of 29 November 2017, Table 3.15; and WTO Secretariat, based on information provided by the authorities.
3.71.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Paraguay adopted measures to restrict the export of certain goods, which is why the exporters' registry and the pre-export licencing regime for medical products and supplies were established in 2020.[219]
WTO's environmental database (EDB)
The EDB contains environment-related measures that may qualify as QRs and therefore should be notified under the QR Decision.