GUATEMALA

Capital: Guatemala City
Population:  13,800,000
Currency: Quetzal
Official Language(s): Spanish

I. CHEMICAL MAXIMUM RESIDUE LEVELS (MRLS)

Please click on the above link for a list of Codex chemical MRLs.

II. CHEMICALS AND ADDITIVE INFORMATION

    A. Chemical residue standards:

      Guatemala defers to maximum residue levels established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and considers U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards when establishing maximum residue levels.

    B. Monitoring chemical residues:

    C. Restrictions on use of waxes:

      There are no restrictions on the use of waxes.

III. ORGANIC FRUIT REGULATIONS

No information.

IV. TARIFFS

As agreed under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, the tariff rate for U.S. apples, pears and cherries is zero.

In order for importers to obtain this preferential duty free rate a Certificate of Origin must be provided.  See section Chapter V, Section F for more information.

V. NON-TARIFF BARRIERS

    A. Labeling requirements:

    B. Licenses and quotas:

      Import licenses must be obtained at the Ministry of Agriculture. 

    C. Currency Issues:

      None.

    D. Pest and plant disease restrictions:

      A Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) is required.

E. Solid Wood Packaging Material (SWPM) Regulations:

F.  Certificate of Origin:

A Certificate of Origin must accompany any shipment in order to obtain the preferential duty free tariff provided under the DR- CAFTA.

There is no official Certification of Origin form.  However, a “suggested form” for imports under DR-CAFTA, including instructions on how to fill in the form may be found at Certificate of Origin. 

Special attention should be paid to entering the correct “preferential tariff treatment criteria” under box 7 of the suggested form.  For fruit exported from the Pacific Northwest the correct entry is the capital letter A; which designates the import as “it is a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more of the Parties.”  

G. Certificate of Attestation:

Based on a negotiated understanding with USDA/FAS, in lieu of providing a food safety certificate and/or proving laboratory test results, Guatemala has agreed to allow shippers to provide a Certificate of Attestation verifying that the shipment complies with food safety regulations within the U.S.    The Certificate of Attestation may be issued by the exporter (producer, packer, or distributor).  In box 1.5 of the certificate a sanitary license number is required, this may be the registration number the packing house has with any state or federal authority (e.g., the registration number assigned by FDA under the Bioterrorism Act, the USDA Positive Lot Identification (PLI) number or, in Washington, the packer's WSDA state lot identification number).  The Certificate of Attestation must accompany shipments as of November 1, 2011. 

VI. SUBSIDIES

Guatemalan apple importers are assessed a $0.07 Quetzal/lb. fee which is collected by the government and transferred to domestic apple producers.

VII.  MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES FOR PACIFIC NORTHWEST TREE FRUIT INDUSTRY

VIII.  OTHER RESOURCE LINKS:

Governmental: 

IX.  ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act was signed by President Bush on August 2, 2005.  This FTA entered  into force in Guatemala on July 1, 2006.

Special thanks to
FAS Field Office - Guatemala

105 South 18th Street, Suite 105
Yakima, Washington 98901, USA
Voice: (509) 453-3193, Fax: (509) 457-7615

E-mail general@nwhort.org