El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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III. TRADE POLICIES BY MEASURE
(1) OVERVIEW
1. Since its previous Trade Policy Review in 1996, El Salvador has pursued the gradual
liberalization of its trade regime.  More specifically, it has taken steps to simplify customs procedures
and has been implementing the Customs Valuation Agreement since March 2002, with the exception
of minimum values applied, under a waiver granted by the WTO, to certain used products from
partners not receiving preferential treatment.  The average tariff level fell to 7.4% in 2002, with,
however, a higher average level of protection for agricultural products and tariff escalation in varioussectors.  Lower tariffs are applied to a growing number of partners receiving preferential treatment.
Most of El Salvador's customs tariff has been bound at 40% – the main exceptions being food
products, wood and non-metallic minerals.
2. During the period under review, El Salvador introduced import tariff quotas for one of the
products under its Uruguay Round minimum access commitments.  It also maintains "under-supply
quotas", allowing imports of goods mostly at a zero rate of duty when domestic producers are unable
to satisfy full domestic demand.  These quotas are shared within the industry as a proportion of
purchases of the goods made from domestic producers.
3. The use of non-tariff barriers seems limited. El Salvador applies non-automatic licensing,
solely for economic reasons, to imports of sacks made of coarse fibre;  there appear to be other import
restrictions and prohibitions in order to maintain political and social order, protect public morality and
preserve the environment.  El Salvador applies no anti-dumping or countervailing duties.  Three
safeguard proceedings were instituted and settled without the adoption of safeguard measures.
El Salvador has a technical regulation requiring the addition of Vitamin A to sugar for the domesticmarket.  Two WTO Members have voiced concerns regarding apparent difficulties of access posed by
some of El Salvador's sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
4. There is still a marked difference between trade conditions under the general regime and those
under the free trade zone and inward processing warehouse schemes, under which most of the
country's exporters conduct their activities.  These schemes accord duty-free treatment to eligible
producers.  They also provide for export subsidies, which El Salvador has notified to the Committee
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, while securing an extension of the deadline for their
elimination.
5. As regards competition legislation, no significant changes have been introduced since
El Salvador's previous Review, except in the telecommunications sector.  During the past few years,
the authorities have been working on drafting a competition law the adoption of which would fill a
major vacuum, as there appears to be limited competition in the domestic market.  El Salvador has not
signed the Plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement.  A new law, which came into effect
in 2000, could stimulate competition in El Salvador's government procurement market, although theparticipation of foreign firms is left to the discretion of the procuring entities.
6. El Salvador protects intellectual property rights through a combination of international and
domestic provisions, which were examined by the TRIPS Council in 2000.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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(2) MEASURES AFFECTING IMPORTS
(i) Procedures
7. El Salvador's customs regime is based on th e Uniform Central American Customs Code III
(CAUCA III, approved by Resolution No. 85-2002 of the Central American Tariff and Customs
Council adopted by Executive Resolution No. 606 (Economy), which was published in Official
Journal No. 128, Vol. 356, of 11 July 2002), the Co de's national regulations  (RENCAUCA, approved
on 9 June 1994) and a number of domestic laws, including the Law on the Registration of Importers
(Decree No. 224 of 14 December 2000, published in Official Journal No. 241, Vol. 349, of22 December 2000), the Law on Customs Simplification (Decree No. 529 of 3 February 1999), the
Special Law on the Penalization of Customs Offences (Decree No. 551 of 20 September 2000,
published in Official Journal No. 204, Vol. 353, of 29 October 2001) and amendments thereto (Decree
No. 787 of 22 March 2002).  El Salvador, Cost a Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are
currently working on common regulations for CAUCA III (RECAUCA).
8. The Directorate-General of Customs Revenue ( DGRA), attached to the Ministry of Finance,
is in charge of implementing and overseeing customs regulations, in particular import procedures.  As
a general rule, the filing of a customs import declaration requires the intervention of a customs broker.In the case of the Teledespacho  system (see below), introduced under the Law on Customs
Simplification, use of a customs broker is optional for legal persons.
9. Every customs declaration should contain at least the following information:  The requested
customs regime;  particulars of the dispatcher or consignee;  particulars of the applicant or his
representative;  type of transport;  cargo manifest number;  number of the corresponding transport
document;  country(ies) of origin and provenance of the goods;  description of the goods;  tariffclassification of the goods and their trade description;  customs value of the goods;  and the applicable
duties and taxes.
10. Depending on the customs regime, the declaration should be accompanied by the following
documents:  Commercial invoice;  transport documents (e.g. bill of lading, consignment note, airway
bill or other equivalent document);  declaration of customs value of the goods;  certificate of origin of
the goods, where applicable;  licences, permits or certificates attesting compliance with non-tariff
restrictions and regulations applicable to the goods;  and any other authorizations or guarantees
required by the nature of the goods and the corresponding customs regime.
11. Under the State modernization programmes, in recent years the Government has taken a
number of measures to improve the efficiency of Sa lvadoran Customs.  This included the adoption by
the DGRA of an ISO 9001 quality system.  A certificate of conformity was obtained and renewed in
June 2002.
12. Another new measure under the State modernization programmes is the implementation of an
automated system known as Teledespacho  for the electronic transmission of goods declarations to
Customs.  According to the DGRA, this cuts down the average time needed to process a declaration
from 30 to only five minutes.  The service has been available on the Internet since February 2002.
13. According to the authorities, goods move through Customs at different speeds, under a fiscal
"traffic light" system subjecting the goods to one of the following control procedures:  (i) physicalinspection for valuation purposes (red light);  (ii) automatic release (green light);  or (iii) review of
documents for subsequent inspection (yellow light).  Clearance takes between five and 20 minutes for
merchandise receiving the green light;  the red light means an average delay of two to 24 hours,
provided that no problems arise and there are no more than 20 items per inspection.  The SalvadoranEl Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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Customs' fiscal "traffic light" system is not applied at random but according to a series of parameters
(e.g. tariff classification of the goods, countries of origin and provenance, importer and carrier's
particulars), all of which determine the level of control of the goods.  There are no statistics forfrequency of use of each type of control.
14. The following remedies are available to users of customs services in the event of any
irregularity on the part of the DGRA, as specified in Articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Law on Customs
Simplification:  (i) Application for reconsideration by the same customs official;  (ii) application for
review by the Director-General of Customs Revenue;  (iii) appeal before the Internal Revenue
Appeals Court;  (iv) amparo proceedings before the Supreme Court of Justice;  and (v) appeal forjudicial review by the Supreme Court of Justice.
15. According to the authorities, 84 appeals of decisions were filed in the period
January-June 2002, i.e. an average of 14 per month.  In three-quarters of the cases, the Directorate-General of Customs Revenue confirmed the decisions challenged or rejected the appeals as irrelevantor inadmissible for lack of jurisdiction or failure to respect the deadlines.
(ii) Customs valuation and rules of origin
(a) Customs valuation
16. Between 1996 and 2001, El Salvador applied the Central American legislation on the customs
valuation of goods and its regulations (Annex B of the Convention on the Central American Tariffsand Customs Regime), which bases its customs valuation method on the Brussels Definition.
El Salvador invoked Article 20.1 of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation to delay the
application of its provisions for a period of five years from the date of its entry into force, meaning
that El Salvador was scheduled to implement th e Agreement by 7 May 2000.  However, El Salvador
requested and was granted an extension of the delay until 7 September 2001.
1
17. On that date, El Salvador requested a further delay for implementing certain provisions of the
Agreement, including those pertaining to the application of minimum values to a limited number of
goods.  The extension was granted for a period of six months, until 7 March 2002,2 when El Salvador
began implementing the Agreement with the exception of its disciplines pertaining to minimum
values.  In May 2002, El Salvador asked to apply minimum values to a number of products for a
period of two to four years.3  In its decision of 8 July 2002, the General Council decided that
El Salvador could apply minimum values to articles of apparel until 7 March 2003, extending the
deadline to 7 March 2005 for worn clothing and other worn articles;  used televisions;  footwear;pneumatic tyres, retreaded or used;  sacks and bags, of a kind used for packing, of jute or other textile
bast fibres of HS heading 53.03;  and used vehicles and used parts and accessories thereof.
4  In the
context of this Review, the authorities indicated that at year-end 2002 the application of minimumvalues concerned only imports of used products of these descriptions.
18. El Salvador applies the GATT 1994 Customs Valu ation Code to preferential imports.  Under
its free trade agreements with Chile, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, the application of
                                                     
1 WTO document G/VAL/30 of 6 July 2000.
2 WTO document WT/L/453 of 17 May 2002.
3 WTO document G/C/W/372 of 13 May 2002.
4 WTO document WT/L/476 of 12 July 2002.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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minimum values is expressly prohibited, although El Salvador has reserved the right to apply such
values to certain categories of used goods from Chile and Mexico.
19. The authorities have prepared a draft National Law on Customs Valuation of Goods in order
to provide the country with legislation that supple ments and ensures the proper implementation of the
WTO Customs Valuation Agreement.5  By mid-2002, the draft was before the Legislative Assembly
for review.
(b) Rules of origin
20. El Salvador applies preferential rules of origin defined in the various trade agreements to
which it is party;  it does not apply non-preferential rules of origin.  The preferential rules of origin
are established in the General Treaty on Central American Economic Integration;  the Central
American Regulations on Origin of Goods and the Annex on Specific Rules of Origin;  the Free-
Trade Agreement between Mexico and El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras;  the Free-TradeAgreement between Central America and the Domini can Republic and its bilateral Protocols;  the
Free-Trade Agreement between Central America and Chile and its bilateral Protocol;  and the Free-
Trade Agreement between El Salvador and Panama and its bilateral Protocol.
21. The preferential rules of origin applied by El Salvador to goods not produced wholly in the
territory covered by a preferential trade agreement vary with the treaty and often with the nature of the
goods but, generally speaking, they are based on the principle of change of tariff classificationsupplemented by ancillary rules.  The latter generally include requirements relating to the value of
regional content, which is calculated according to the transaction value method.
(iii) Tariffs
(a) Structure and levels
22. El Salvador accords at least MFN treatment to the WTO Members, although it does not apply
the Multilateral Trade Agreements to the People's Republic of China, pursuant to Article XIII of the
Marrakesh Agreement (Chapter II.4(i)).
23. El Salvador applies the Central American Import Tariff, which contains the nomenclature for
the official classification of goods (Central American Tariff System – SAC), together with the import
duty rates and the rules for the application of its provisions.  This tariff is common to the member
countries of the Central American Common Market (CACM).  The SAC is based on the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System (HS).  The second revision of the HS was incorporated in
the SAC on 1 September 1996 by Resolution No. 22-96 adopted on 22 May 1996 by the Council of
Ministers for Economic Integration and Re gional Development (COMRIEDRE). The SAC's
harmonization with the third revision of the HS came into force on 1 October 2002, by means of
Resolution No. 89-2002 of the Central American Tariff and Customs Council of 23 August 2002.
24. The duties applied and any modifications made must be approved by the Central American
Tariff and Customs Council.  The general parameters  of tariff policy are specified in COMRIEDRE
Resolution No. 26-96 of 22 May 1996, which establishes the following ad valorem  tariff levels:  0%
for raw materials and intermediate and capital goods not produced in the region;  5% for raw materials
produced in the region;  10% for intermediate and capital goods produced in the region;  and 15% for
finished goods.  The Resolution also provides for the application of other tariffs for fiscal reasons,
                                                     
5 The draft law was notified in WTO document G/VAL/N/4/SLV/1 of 26 June 2001.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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under commitments made in the WTO, and in situations specific to production chains for particular
goods.
25. In August 2002, the Salvadoran tariff contained 5,989 eight-digit tariff lines.  All import
duties are ad valorem and are applied to the c.i.f. value of the goods.  In accordance with the tariff
reduction programme approved at the regional level, El Salvador’s average tariff has steadily
decreased from 10.1% in 1995 to 7.4% in 2002 (Table  III.1).  Likewise, in conformity with CACM
objectives, the majority (86.5%) of tariff rates fall within the zero to 15% band, and about half
(47.1%) are at the 0% level.  Applied tariff dispersion (measured in terms of both standard deviationand coefficient of variation) increased between 1995 and 2002.
26. The average tariff for agricultural products (defined according to Annex I of the WTO
Agreement on Agriculture) is higher than for other products (respectively 12 and 6.7%).  The
agricultural products with a higher level of protecti on include the following:  Pig meat and some of its
products (HS 0203 and 0209);  dairy produce (HS 04);  rice (HS 1006);  pig fat (HS 1501);  sausages
and prepared meat (HS 1601 and 1602);  sugar (HS 1701); and ethyl alcohol (HS 2207).
27. Partly reflecting CACM guidelines, the average tariffs applied in various manufacturing
sectors show a clear pattern of tariff escalation (Chart III.1).
(b) Tariff bindings
28. In the Uruguay Round, El Salvador bound most tariff lines and 72% of its customs tariff at a
maximum level of 40%, except for agricultural products specified in its Schedule of Commitments
and the exceptions stipulated in Annexes A and B of its Protocol of Accession.  The main productsbound at rates above 40% include food products, beverages and tobacco; wood and wood products;and non-metallic minerals.
6
Table III.1
Summary analysis of the Salvadoran tariff
Tariff rates applied
CategoriesNumber of
linesaAverage tariff
applied (%) Range (%)Standard
deviation (%)Coefficient of
variation
Total 5,989 7.4 0-40 9.0 1.2
By WTO category
Agricultural products 879 12.0 0-40 10.9 0.9
Live animals;  animal products 108 21.9 0-40 14.3 0.7
Dairy produce 31 26.9 0-40 13.1 0.5
Coffee and tea, cocoa, sugar, etc. 163 12.7 0-40 9.5 0.7
Fruit and vegetables 194 13.4 0-20 4.3 0.3
Cereals 22 12.0 0-40 15.3 1.3
Beverages and spirits 46 19.1 0-40 10.9 0.6
Tobacco 19 7.9 0-30 8.2 1.0
Non-agricultural products (excl. petroleum) 5,094 6.7 0-30 8.4 1.3
Fish and fish products 139 9.8 0-15 5.2 0.5
      Textiles and clothing 910 17.8 0-25 7.8 0.4
Leather, rubber, footwear and travel goods 175 8.6 0-20 6.9 0.8
       Transport equipment 156 6.5 0-30 9.7 1.5
    Petroleum 16 4.3 1-10 3.8 0.9
By ISIC  sectorsb
Agriculture and fishing 388 8.6 0-40 7.1 0.8
                                                     
6 For a detailed description of the bound levels, see WTO (1997), Trade Policy Review, El Salvador
1996, Geneva.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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Tariff rates applied
CategoriesNumber of
linesaAverage tariff
applied (%) Range (%)Standard
deviation (%)Coefficient of
variation
Mining 108 2.2 0-20 3.8 1.8
Manufacturing industry 5,492 7.5 0-40 9.1 1.2
By HS sections
01 Live animals; animal products 263 14.1 0-40 11.3 0.8
02 Vegetable products 363 9.9 0-40 7.1 0.7
03 Fats and oils 52 7.6 0-40 7.9 1.0
04 Prepared foodstuffs, etc. 257 15.7 0-40 11.8 0.8
05 Mineral products 165 2.8 0-15 3.8 1.3
06 Products of the chemical industries 887 1.9 0-15 4.2 2.2
07 Plastics and rubber 307 4.6 0-15 4.8 1.1
08 Hides and skins, leather 81 9.1 0-15 6.2 0.7
09 Wood and articles of wood 87 7.4 0-15 5.7 0.8
10 Pulp, paper, etc. 191 4.4 0-15 5.8 1.3
11 Textiles and textile articles 891 17.8 0-25 8.0 0.5
12 Footwear and headgear 63 14.9 0-20 5.6 0.4
13 Articles of stone 160 6.5 0-15 6.6 1.0
14 Precious stones, etc. 53 8.2 0-20 6.9 0.8
15 Base metals and articles thereof 675 3.3 0-15 5.0 1.5
16 Machinery 903 2.3 0-15 4.9 2.1
17 Transport equipment 168 6.2 0-30 9.4 1.5
18 Precision instruments 244 4.2 0-25 6.5 1.5
19 Arms and ammunition 17 30.0 30 0.0 0.0
20 Miscellaneous manufactured articles 153 10.9 0-30 5.7 0.5
21 Works of art, etc. 9 20.0 5-30 12.0 0.6
a Excluding the applied in-quota rate.
b ISIC Classification (Rev.2), excluding electricity (1 line).
Source : WTO Secretariat estimates based on data supplied by the Salvadoran authorities.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
Page 37
048131721
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39Chart III.1
Tariff escalation for manufactured productsa, 2002
%
Raw materials
Semi-finished 
Finished 
31
32
33
3435
36
37
3839Manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco
Textile, clothing and leather industries
Wood and wood products, including furniture, industry
Manufacture of paper and paper products;  printing and publishingManufacture of chemicals and chemical products derived from petroleum and from carbon, rubber and 
plastics
Manufacture of non-metal mineral products, except for derivatives of petroleum and carbon
Basic metal industries
Manufacture of metal products, machinery and equipmentOther manufacturing industries
a
Source:By 2-digit ISIC category.
WTO Secretariat estimates based on data supplied by the Salvadoran authorities.
29. El Salvador requested and was granted the waiver of Article II of the GATT 1994, in
connection with the introduction of 1996 Harmonized System changes into its Schedule ofConcessions, until 31 October 2002.
7
                                                     
7 El Salvador's request is recorded in document G/L/514 of 1 March 2002;  the General Council's
decision granting the waiver is set out in document WT/L/456 of 17 May 2002.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
Page 38
(c) Tariff preferences
30. In September 2002, El Salvador was granting preferential tariff treatment to imports from the
CACM, Chile, Mexico and the Dominican Republic (Table III.2).  It will also apply preferential
tariffs to imports from Panama once the free trade agreement between the two countries has come into
force (Chapter II.2(ii)).
Table III.2
Average tariffs according to El Salvador's main preferential agreements, December 2002
Average tariffs (%)
Number of
linesa MFN MexicoDominican
RepublicChile
Total 5,989 7.4 5.1 0.3 4.9
By WTO category
Agricultural products 879 12.0 9.8 2.0 7.5
Non-agricultural products
(excl. petroleum)5,094 6.7 4.3 0.0 4.4
By ISIC sectorb
Agriculture and fisheries 388 8.6 5.5 0.6 2.1
Mining 108 2.2 0.7 0.0 0.1
Manufacturing 5,492 7.5 5.1 0.3 5.2
a Excluding the applied in-quota rate.
b ISIC Classification (Rev.2), excluding electricity (1 line).
Source : WTO Secretariat estimates based on data supplied by the Salvadoran authorities.
31. Most products of CACM origin benefit from a zero tariff rate.  Limitations on free trade at the
Central American level are established bilaterally among the Central American countries and set out
in Annex A to the General Treaty on Central American Economic Integration.  Annex A stipulatesthat restricted products are subject to import licensing or the payment of import duties (Table III.3).
As regards products subject to import licensing, countries may grant import licences at their
discretion, in which case the products benefit from a free trade regime;  if a licence is not granted,
duty must be paid.  As from 1 January 2003, wheat flour (1101.00.00) will be removed from
Annex A, because wheat flour imports of CACM origin are duty free (Resolution No. 01-2002 of the
Executive Committee for Economic Integration of 27 September 2002).
32. Most imports from the Dominican Republic (around 98% of the customs tariff) are duty free;
the average tariff is 0.3% (Table III.2).  A limited number of items (around 1.5% of the customs tariff)
will not be subject to tariff reduction and have hence been removed from the Agreement.  These
products include meat and edible offal;  prawns;  milk;  onions;  beans;  coffee;  rice;  wheat flour;
animal and vegetable fats and oils;  cane sugar; tomato concentrate;  malt beer;  ethyl alcohol;
tobacco and cigarettes;  petroleum products;  and paper.
33. The tariff concessions accorded to imports from Mexico extend over 96% of the customs
tariff.  Since a little over 40% of the tariff is being gradually phased out over a period of 12 years
from the date of entry into force of the agreem ent between El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and
Mexico, by the end of 2002 the average preferential tariff of 5.1% remained fairly close to the average
MFN tariff.  Mexican products not entitled to preferential treatment are mostly agricultural productsand include those classified under the following h eadings:  milk and dairy produce (HS 04); sugars
and sugar confectionery (HS 17);  cocoa and cocoa preparations (HS 18);  and tobacco and tobacco
substitutes (HS 24).El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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Table III.3
Goods subject to special import arrangements under the CACM
Tariff item Description Measure
Arrangement common to all five countries
09.01.1 Coffee, not roasted Subject to import duties
17.01
17.01.11.00
17.01.91.00
17.01.99.00Cane sugar, refined or unrefined
Cane
Containing added flavouring or colouring matter
OtherImport control
Bilateral arrangement (El Salvador – Guatemala)
1101.00.00a
22.07
22.08.90.10Wheat flour
Ethyl alcohol, denatured or undenaturedImport control
Import control
Bilateral arrangement (El Salvador – Honduras)
09.01.2 Roasted coffee Subject to import duties
11.01.00.00aWheat flour Import control
22.07
22.08.90.10Ethyl alcohol, denatured or undenatured Import control
22.08 except 2208.90.10 Distilled alcoholic beverages Subject to import duties
27.10
27.1227.13
27.15Petroleum products (except mineral solvents
(2710.00.1) and asphalt (2713.20.00), which areaccorded free-trade treatment between contracting
States)Subject to import duties
Bilateral arrangement (El Salvador – Nicaragua)
09.01.2 Roasted coffee Subject to import duties
11.01.00.00* Wheat flour Import control
22.07
22.08.90.10Ethyl alcohol, denatured or undenatured Import control
Bilateral arrangement (El Salvador - Costa Rica)
09.01.2 Roasted coffee Subject to import duties
22.07
22.08.90.10Ethyl alcohol, denatured or undenatured Import control
a Pursuant to Resolution No. 01-2002 of the Executive Committee for Economic Integration of 27 September 2002, approving the
removal of wheat flour (1101.00.00) from Annex A of the General Treaty on Central American Economic Integration as from
1 January 2003.
Source : Resolution No. 44-99 of the Council of Central American Ministers for Economic Integration (COMIECO), of
17 September 1999.
34. Around 63% of El Salvador's customs tariff was fully liberalized with the entry into force of
the Free-Trade Agreement between Central America and Chile.  Another 30% is being gradually
phased out under a tariff-cutting programme over a period of 16 years;  there will be no tariffreductions for the remaining portion.  Items not covered by the Agreement are mostly agricultural
products.  By mid-2002, a 4.9% average preferential tariff was being accorded to Chile.
(d) Tariff concessions
35. Imports under the free-zone or inward processing schemes are eligible for tariff concessions
(Section 3(vi) below).  Goods imported into El Salvador under the Ley de Equipajes de Viajeros
Procedentes del Exterior (Law on Incoming Travellers' Luggage) (essentially personal effects and
goods not exceeding a certain value), small consignments of a non-commercial nature not exceeding a
value of US$500, samples of no commercial value under certain conditions, and relief consignments
are exempt from import duties, subject to approval by the Legislative Assembly.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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(iv) Tariff quotas
36. El Salvador maintains import tariff quotas for agricultural products under its Uruguay Round
minimum access commitments.  The WTO was notified that no quotas had been opened for any ofthese products between 1995 and 1999, because the applied tariffs were either the same as or less than
the tariffs established in El Salvador's Schedule of Commitments.
8  In 2000, El Salvador notified the
WTO of the opening of a tariff quota for one of the types of cheese included in its Schedule,
i.e. Cheddar cheese in blocks or in bars (tariff item SAC 0406.9020).  The in-quota tariff on imports
of this product was 20% in 2000 and dropped to 15% from 2001 on.  The out-of-quota rate is 40%,i.e. the same as that applied to all other types of cheese included in the Schedule.
9  According to the
authorities, quota fill rates for Cheddar cheese reached 33% in 2000, 84% in 2001, and 100% in 2002.
37. The quotas are allocated by public auction through the El Salvador Agricultural Commodity
Exchange (BOLPROES).  The award certificates de livered stipulate import terms and conditions, in
particular the allocation of quota volumes and import timeframes.  They are submitted to the Ministryof the Economy upon application for the extension of import licences.
10  Import licences may not be
transferred.
38. Only national milk processing plants purchasing at least 10,000 bottles a day of liquid milk
may take part in quota auctions for Cheddar cheese.
39. El Salvador also uses under-supply quotas allowing imports of products at a zero rate of duty
in order to meet domestic demand when domestic producers are temporarily unable to do so.  These
quotas are granted to the respective processing industry as a proportion of purchases of these products
made from domestic producers.  According to the authorities, by July 2002 under-supply quotas had
been opened for rice in the husk (HS 1006.10.90) and various meat products (corresponding to
21 tariff lines under headings HS 0203, 0206, 0209, 0210 and 1501).
(v) Other charges affecting imports
40. Imports are subject to internal taxes as well as tariffs.  These taxes apply to both imports and
domestic products and include value-added tax (VAT) and various selective taxes on products such as
alcoholic beverages, carbonated beverages and cigarettes.  They are collected on imports regardless of
the provenance of the products concerned.  The same rate is applied to domestic and foreign products.
41. VAT is charged on the transfer, importation and consumption of goods and the provision and
importation of services.  The taxable base is generally the agreed price or consideration for the
transfer of goods or the provision of services.  For imports, the taxable base is the sum of theapplicable customs value, duties and specific consumption taxes, on which VAT is then applied at a
rate of 13%;  for exports, the rate is 0%.  Definitive imports of the following goods are VAT-exempt:
                                                     
8 WTO document G/AG/N/SLV/6 of 10 August 1998.
9 WTO documents G/AG/N/SLV/8, G/AG/N/SLV/9 and G/AG/N/SLV/10 of 25 April 2000,
23 February 2001 and 23 April 2002, respectively.
10 Regulations on the Opening and Administration of Quotas of 28 October 1999, enacted by Executive
Decree No. 46 published in Official Journal No. 203, Vol. 345, of 29 October 1999.  Amendments to the
Regulations were made by Decree No. 16 of 15 March 2000, published in Official Journal No. 73, Vol. 347, of12 April 2000, and Decree No. 97 of 16 November 2000, published in Official Journal No. 223, Vol. 349, of28 November 2000.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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- Goods imported by diplomatic missions, consulates and international institutions or
organizations;
- goods imported by passengers or crews of ships, aircraft or vehicles, where the goods
are covered by the travellers' luggage regime and are exempt from customs duties;
- goods donated under agreements concluded by El Salvador;- goods imported by municipalities for community work or direct community benefit;- machinery imported by duly registered taxpayers as part of their fixed assets for
direct use in the production of goods or the provision of services;
- buses, micro-buses and rental vehicles for public passenger transport.
42. The following services are VAT-exempt:
- Health services delivered by State institutions or public welfare institutions;
- letting, subletting or transfer of use or temporary enjoyment of immovable property
for housing purposes;
- services provided in the context of employment relationships within the meaning of
labour legislation, and services provided by government or municipal employees or
employees of autonomous agencies;
- duly recognized public cultural events;
- educational and teaching services;- payment or accrual of interest on deposit and loan transactions by financial
institutions;
- payment or accrual of interest on securities issued and placed by the State and
autonomous official agencies, and by private entities where the initial offering was
public;
- public water supply and sewage services;- public passenger carrier services;- payment of premiums for personal insurance;  and reinsurance generally.
43. All domestic and foreign alcoholic beverages, including grape wines, champagnes, beer,
cocktails and fermented fruit juices, are subject to a tax on alcoholic content of C0.05 on each
percentage by volume of alcoholic content per litre, and to a 20%  ad valorem  tax based on the retailWT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
Page 42
price declared by the producer or importer.11  Products containing ethyl alcohol and considered as
medicines by the competent authority are exempt from this tax.
44. Carbonated or sweetened carbonated beverages are subject to a 10%  ad valorem  tax based on
the retail price suggested by the producer, importer or distributor, excluding VAT.  Domesticproducers and importers of carbonated or sweetened carbonated beverages are required to provide the
Directorate-General of Internal Revenue with a list of suggested retail prices, which may be amended
by a new list submitted eight days before the entry into force of the new prices;  importers arerequired to submit any new list to the Directorate-General of Customs Revenue.
12
45. Domestic- or foreign-produced cigarettes distributed, sold or consumed in El Salvador are
subject to a 39% ad valorem  tax on the retail price, excluding VAT.  Domestically produced
cigarettes for export are exempt from this tax.13
46. Empty sacks and bags of synthetic fibre, produced in or imported into El Salvador, are subject
to an 80% tax on the reference price for sacks made of coarse fibre.  The benchmark is established bythe Ministry of the Economy and calculated on the basis of the domestic market price for sacks of
coarse fibre.
14  According to the authorities, this tax was under review at year-end 2002 with a view to
its possible elimination.
(vi) Import licensing, permits and other import requirements
47. El Salvador has notified no import licensing mechanism other than the import licences
relating to the administration of tariff quotas (Section (iv)).
48. Pursuant to Legislative Decree No. 1097 of 10 July 1953, the Ministry of the Economy is
empowered to regulate imports of sacks made of coarse fibre through import licensing.  According to
the authorities, the reason for maintaining this arrangement is that the coarse fibre productionsubsector, located in the most arid parts of the country, is in the process of being restructured and
hence still requires a certain level of protection.  The mechanism for allocating the licences is
governed by executive decisions published in the Official Journal and listing the beneficiaries.  The
granting of licences takes into account the volume of demand not met by the local industry and the
applicants' (generally coffee producers) actual needs for a given season.   The licences are issued tousers and not to producers.  The authorities indicated that in mid-2002 Legislative Decree No. 1097was being reviewed for possible amendment.
49. Import licences are required in the CACM for a limited number of products subject to import
control (Section (iii)(c)).  Imports of certain goods are also subject to authorization or specificprocedures (Table III.4).
                                                     
11 Ley Reguladora de la Producción y Comercialización del Alcohol y de las Bebidas Alcohólicas (Law
Regulating the Production and Sale of Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages), enacted by Decree No. 587, publishedin Official Journal No. 211 of 8 November 2001.
12 Ley del Impuesto sobre las Bebidas Gaseosas Simples o Endulzadas  (Law on the Taxation of
Carbonated or Sweetened Carbonated Beverages), enact ed by Decree No. 64, published in Official Journal
No. 41 of 26 February 2001.
13 Ley de Impuesto de Cigarrillos (Law on Cigarette Taxation), enacted by Decree No. 18, published in
Official Journal No. 224 of 1 December 1997.
14 Legislative Decree No. 235 of 17 December 1985, published in Official Journal No. 244- Bis,
Vol. 289, of 23 December 1985, and Executive Decision No. 5 of 14 January 1999, published in Official Journal
No. 16, Vol. 342, of 25 January 1999.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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Table III.4
Specific import procedures and documents
Product Procedure or
documentResponsible entity Waiting
timeRequirement
Food, beverages and
raw materialsRegistration Ministry of Public Health and
Social Welfare (MSPAS)1 month Physical, chemical and bacteriological
analysis by the MSPAS
Food products Import
authorizationMSPAS 30 min. Registration
Fresh food Import
authorizationMSPAS 30 min. Presentation of the MAG import
authorization
Medicines, rawmaterials and precursor
substancesRegistration Public Health Council 6 months Analysis by the Pharmaceutical/Chemical
Council (JVPQF) and the Medical Council
(JVPM)
Cosmetics and
cleaning productsRegistration JVPQF 15 days Analysis by the JVPQF
Raw materials for the
pharmaceutical,
industrial, textile and
veterinary drugs
industriesVisa JVPQF 1 day Presentation of invoice and payment of
visa duty
Animals, plants,animal and plant
products and by-
productsPlant or animal
health import
authorizationMinistry of Agriculture and
Livestock (MAG)15-30 min. Registration and presentation of the
MSPAS import authorization for processed
food
Agrochemicals,
fertilizers,  drugs and
biologicals for
veterinary useVisa MAG 15 min. Product registration
Agrochemicals and
inputs for agricultural
use and animal feedVisa MAG 15 min. Product registration
Source : WTO Secretariat estimates based on data supplied by the Salvadoran authorities.
(vii) Prohibitions and other restrictions
50. El Salvador operates import prohibitions on a limited number of products, generally on
grounds of health, security, morality or environmen tal protection, as indicated in Table III.5.  It also
prohibits the importation of coffee that could be used as seed for planting, light passenger or cargo
motor vehicles in use for more than eight years and heavy passengers and cargo motor vehicles in usefor more than 15 years.
15
                                                     
15 Decree No. 353 of 6 April 2001.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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Table III.5
Prohibited imports
Description Tariff heading
Material that is subversive or contrary to the State's political, social and economic order 49.01.10.00, 49.01.99.00, 49.11.10.90,
58.07.10.00, 58.07.90.00, 61.17.80.90,
62.17.10.00, 63.07.9090
Figures, statues, books, leaflets, almanacs, magazines, lithographs or engravings,periodicals, cards and any other material of an obscene character37.05.90.00, 39.26.40.00, 49.01.10.00,
49.02.90.00, 49.09.00.00, 97.02.00.00,
69.13.90.00, 83.06.21.00
Films contrary to ethics and morality 37.06.10.00, 37.06.90.00, 85.24.31.00,
85.24.39.00, 85.24.53.12, 85.24.53.19
Abortifacient substances 12.11.90.90, 30.04.00.00, 90.18.90.00
Gambling machines 95.04.30.00
Roulette games, game tables and any other prohibited games equipment or artefacts 95.04.90.00
Opium with less than 9% of morphine, opium slag and slash, and any artefacts for smoking
opium13.02.11.00, 2621.00.00, 9614.20.00
Paper without the proper stamp for making cigarettes, white or coloured, in pads, rolls,
cylinders, booklets or tubes48.13.10.00, 48.13.20.00, 48.13.90.00
Machines and tools for fabricating coins 82.07.90.00, 84.62.99.00
Counterfeit currency 49.07.00.20
Smooth silver coins of less than 0.900 of width 71.18.10.00
Tokens of any type of metal or their alloys, that could circulate as coins 95.04.30.00
Source : WTO Secretariat estimates based on data supplied by the Salvadoran authorities.
51. Some goods are subject to a "limited import prohibition", meaning that only the State can
import them.  These goods include eau-de-vie made with cane sugar;  munitions, military airplanes
and ships, weapons and silencers, and gas masks for military use;  potassium nitrate;  stamped paper
for making cigarettes;  fiscal, municipal and postage stamps;  and nickel coins for legal circulation.
52. The authorities reported that up to mid-2002 El Salvador had not applied any trade embargo
of any kind.
(viii) Anti-dumping and countervailing measures
53. Salvadoran legislation on unfair trade practices incorporates the Agreement on
Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures and the Central American Regulations on Unfair Business Practices, adopted on
12 December 1995 and in force since 12 January 1996.16  The Regulations have been examined by
Members in the Committees on Anti-Dumping Practices and on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures.17
54. The authority responsible for investigating, analysing and evaluating allegations of unfair
trade practices and recommending whether anti-dumping or countervailing duties should be imposedis the Trade Treaties Department of  the Ministry of the Economy (DATCO).
                                                     
16 El Salvador notified the Central American Regulations on Unfair Business Practices on
30 March 2000 (WTO document G/ADP/N/1/SLV/2 of 21 February 2002);  these superseded the Regulations
on Business Practices and the Safeguard Clause of 29 January 1993.
17 The questions raised in the Committee by the United States and Canada are set out in WTO
documents G/ADP/Q1/SLV/1 and G/ADP/Q1/SLV/2 of 9 April 2002 and 8 April 2002, respectively;El Salvador's replies are recorded in document G/ADP/Q1/SLV/3 of 25 April 2002.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
Page 45
55. Up to October 2002, no investigations or applications for investigation into alleged unfair
trade practices had been initiated in the WTO or under regional agreements, and hence no anti-
dumping or countervailing duties were applied.
(ix) Safeguard actions
56. In addition to the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, El Salvador applies the Central American
Regulations on Safeguard Measures, which have been examined by the Committee on Safeguards.18
The DATCO is the investigating authority for such matters.
57. Since the previous report by the Secretariat, El Salvador has applied no safeguard measures in
the context of the WTO or under regional arrangements.  Under the Central American Regulations on
Safeguard Measures, it did, however, initiate three safeguard investigations against imports of pig
meat and by-products of pig meat;  rice in the hus k, processed rice and by-products of rice;  and
chemical fertilizers.19  All three proceedings were declared inadmissible by the investigating authority
and were closed without safeguard measures being imposed.20
58. No safeguard measure (bilateral or global) may be applied between member countries of the
Central American Common Market.  While the safeguard provisions in the free trade agreements to
which El Salvador is party do not prevent the signatories from applying safeguard measures in
accordance with multilateral rules, in the case of th e agreements with Chile, Mexico and Panama the
imposition of such "global safeguards" should exclude the preferential partner unless its exports aresubstantial or are contributing significantly to the injury.
59. El Salvador has 84 tariff lines at the eight-digit level for which it reserves the possibility of
applying additional duties, in accordance with the special safeguard provisions in the WTO
Agreement on Agriculture.  The WTO has been notified that no special safeguards were applied
between 1995 and 1998.
21  El Salvador has also reserved the right to apply the transitional safeguard
mechanism, pursuant to the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, but has made no use of this
provision.22
(x) Technical regulations and standards
60. El Salvador's key legislation on standardization, metrology, verification and certification is
the Law governing the National Science and Technology Council (enacted by Legislative Decree
No. 287 of 23 July 1992) and the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement).
For the purposes of regional trade, El Salvador also applies the Central American Regulations on
                                                     
18 The Regulations were notified in WTO document G/SG/N/1/SLV/2 of 2 September 1996;  the
replies to the questions raised in the Committee on Safeguards appear in WTO document G/SG/Q1/SLV/2 of12 November 1996.
19 These proceedings were notified to the Committee on Safeguards;  the notifications are in documents
G/SG/N/6/SLV/1 (pig meat), G/SG/N/6/SLV/2 (rice), and G/SG/N/6/SLV/3 (fertilizers).
20 WTO documents G/SG/N/9/SLV/1, G/SG/N/9/SLV/2 and G/SG/N/9/SLV/3 of 20 February 2001,
20 June 2001 and 8 November 2001, respectively.
21 WTO documents G/AG/N/SLV/2, G/AG/N/SLV/5 and G/AG/N/SLV/7 of 5 December 1996,
6 August 1998 and 18 August 1999, respectively.
22 WTO document G/TMB/N/8 of 1 March 1995.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
Page 46
Standardization Measures, Metrology and Authorization Procedures (enacted by Resolution
No. 37-99 (COMIECO-XIII) of 17 September 1999).  According to the authorities, Salvadoran
technical standards and regulations make no distinction between foreign and domestic products.
61. The National Science and Technology Council (CONACYT) is responsible for the
management, coordination and implementation of standardization, metrology, verification and
certification activities, and it has accepted the Code of Good Practice annexed to the TBT Agreement.
The Ministry of the Economy's Trade Policy Department serves as the national enquiry point, as
provided for in Article 10, paragraphs 1 to 3, of the TBT Agreement.  The Department made67 notifications under the Agreement between 1995 and May 2002.
62. CONACYT's Department of Standardization, Metrology and Quality Certification is in
charge of coordinating the development and adoption of national technical standards with other
government bodies and with private and scientific institutions;  proposing national technical standards
for government approval via the Ministry of the Economy;  ensuring the implementation of nationaltechnical standards;  establishing technical committees to study, develop and amend official technical
standards, and coordinating the committees' work;  accrediting laboratories and keeping a register of
accredited facilities;  cooperating and ensuring an ongoing exchange of information with institutionsin El Salvador and abroad and other related international bodies.
63. There are two types of standards in Salvadoran legislation:  Mandatory Salvadoran standards
(NSO) and recommended Salvadoran standards (NSR).  NSOs include the standards regulating the
International System of Units;  standards relating to materials, procedures, products and services that
may affect human life, safety and integrity and the safety and integrity of other live organisms, and
environmental protection standards;   and standards deemed by the Government to be relevant to theeconomy or in the public interest.  NSRs are concerned with materials, procedures, products and
services not covered by an NSO;  they are optional in private negotiations but become mandatory in
any procurement of goods or services by State, autonomous or decentralized bodies, both the supplierand those in charge of the purchase being required to apply them.
23
64. CONACYT's Board of Directors is in charge of establishing the technical standardization
committees responsible for studying and preparing draft NSOs and NSRs.  These committees are
made up of government officials and representatives of any other sectors with an interest indeveloping a specific standard.
65. Once the technical standardization committee has prepared a draft NSO, the draft is published
in the country's main newspaper and notified to the WTO Secretariat and the Central American
Secretariat for Economic Integration (SIECA).  Interest ed parties are then given a period of 60 days to
make their comments.  At the end of the two-month period, the committee reviews the draft standard
in the light of any comments received and submits it for approval to CONACYT's Board of Directors,which in turn forwards it to the Ministry of  the Economy for authorization and issuing of the
executive decision that officially establishes it as a mandatory Salvadoran standard.  The NSO is then
published in the Official Journal of El Salvador.  Standards enter into force six months after their
publication in the Journal.  Once endorsed by CONACYT's Board of Directors, NSRs are likewise
submitted to the Ministry of the Economy for executive approval and publication in the OfficialJournal.
                                                     
23 Article 31 of the Law governing the CONACYT.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
Page 47
66. As at March 2002, El Salvador wa s applying 52 NSOs (Table III.6).24  I n  t e r m s  o f  t h e
International Classifications for Standards (ICS), most of these NSOs fall in the category of food
technology (ICS 67), accounting for 42% of the to tal;  17% come under the heading petroleum and
related technologies (ICS 75);  and 13% are in the agriculture (ICS 65) category.  The remaining 25%
are divided among the following categories:  Generalities (ICS 1);  environment and health protection
(ICS 13);  metrology and measurement (ICS 17);  mechanical systems and components (ICS 21);
fluid systems and components (ICS 23);  textile an d leather technology (ICS 59);  clothing industry
(ICS 61);  and chemical technology (ICS 71).  At that same date, El Salvador had 821 NSRs, 59 of
which had already been approved by the Ministry of the Economy and 762 were in the process ofbeing endorsed;  all officially approved NSRs relate to food technology (ICS 67).
Table III.6
Mandatory Salvadoran standards, October 2002
Code Description Reference
Agrochemical products
65.080.05.02:96 Urea ICAITI 44011
65.080.05.03:96 Ammonium sulphate ICAITI 44013
65.080.05.04:96 Ammonium nitrate ICAITI 44012
65.080.05.07:96 Potassium chloride ICAITI 44020
65.080.05.08:96 Potassium sulphate ICAITI 44019
65.080.05.10:96 Potassium magnesium double
sulphateICAITI 44021
Drinking water, residuals
and ice
13.07.01:97 Drinking water WHO Guide Vols. 1, 2 and 3
13.07.02:98 Bottled water None
13.07.04:00 Ice COGUANOR
Food products
67.02.13:98 Meat and meat products, raw and
cooked sausagesIndian Standard IS 3061-1695
ITINTEC 19:02-2004ITINTEC 19:02-006
Venezuelan Standard COVENIN 1088-76
United States Federal Standard.  PP-S77
a and PP-B-570.
ALINORM 78/16.  Vol. 13, AOAC Official Methods of
Analysis (1995)
67.03.01:99 Wheat flour (first revision) CODEX STAN 1-1985, Rev. 1-1991, (CODEX V-11991),
(NIST-NBS 133), Microbiological analysis (BAM-FDA 1984)
67.01.01:96 Raw cow milk ICAITI 34 040, PMO Grade
67.01.02:96 Pasteurized milk ICAITI 34 040, PMO Grade "A", Pasteurized, milk ordinance
(1985 revision)
67.01.03:95 Ripened cheese Individual Codex Alimentarius standards for ripened cheese,
Vol. XVI, ed. 1
67.01.04:95 Unripened cheese ICAITI 34 97:88 Code of Federal Regulations
67.01.05:95 Milk powder CX STAN A-5
67.01.06:95 Whole and skimmed condensed milk CX-STAN A-4
67.01.07:95 Whole and skimmed evaporated milk CX STAN A-3
                                                     
24 The list of mandatory and recommended Salvadoran standards is available online from the National
Standards, Metrology, Accreditation and Quality Certifica tion Information Centre at:  http://www.infoq.org.sv/).WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
Page 48
Code Description Reference
67.01.08:95 Pasteurized dairy cream for direct
consumptionCX STAN A-9
67.01.09:95 Imitation dairy cream products NSO 67.01.13, 67.01.18, 67.01.26, 67.01.32, 67.01.22, 67.01.23
67.01.10:95 Yoghurt CX STAN A-11 (a) 1975
67.01.11:95 Ices and ice mixesaCX STAN 137-1981
67.01.12:95 Butter CX STAN A-1 (1971)
67.02.01:96 Hygiene practices for poultry
processingAdoption of the Directive
67.02.03:96 Hygiene practices for processed meat
and poultry products (adoption of
CODEX)Adoption of Directive ISO/IEC 3
67.10.01:98 Labelling of prepackaged food CX STAN 1-1985 (Rev.1-1991)
67.10.02:99 Nutrition labelling CAC /GL 2-1985 (Rev. 1 – 1993)
67.16.01:01 Distilled alcoholic beverages. Spirits
("Aguardiente")None
67.16.02:01 Alcoholic beverages, distilled
alcoholic beverages, vodkaNone
67.19.01:00 Natural honey None
67.23.01:01 Edible fats and oils not covered by
individual CODEX standardsCX STAN 19-1981
Metrology
01.08.01:97 International Vocabulary of Basic and
General Terms in MetrologyNone
01.08.02:00 International System of Units ISO 1000
17.08.04:98 Verification of net mass and drained
mass, and the permissible variations
thereinNBS 133:98
17.08.05:97 Verification of net volume and the
permissible variations thereinNBS 133:97
17.08.06:97 Verification of net content of aerosol
products and the permissible
variations thereinNBS 133:98
21.08.03:98 Non-automatic weighing machines OIMLR 76-1:98
Chemical products
71.09.01:98 Ethyl alcohol None
71.12.01:98 Ethyl alcohol, denatured None
Agricultural products
65.00.01:99 Animal feed. Fluid milk and milk
powder for animal consumptionNone
Petroleum products
75.04.01:97 Special and regular unleaded gasoline ASTM D 4814-96
75.04.02:97 Liquefied petroleum gas:  butane and
propane/butane mixASTM D 1835-91
75.04.03:97 Lighting fuel ASTM D 3699-96a
75.04.04:97 Jet fuel (JET A-1) ASTM D 1655-96c
75.04.05:97 Light diesel fuel oil (automotive) ASTM D 396-96/D 975-96a
75.04.06:97 Industrial diesel fuel oil No.2 ASTM D 396-96/ D 975-96/ D 2880-96a
75.04.07:97 Industrial diesel fuel oil No. 6 (bunker
C)ASTM D 396-96/ D 996-96/ D 2880-96a
75.04.08:97 Asphalts ASTM D 946-82 (1993)/D 2026-72(1993)/D2027-76(1992)/D
2028-76(1992)/D2397-94 y D 3381-92El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
Page 49
Code Description Reference
75.04.09:99 Lubricating oils for petrol and diesel
enginesMexican Official Standard NOM-L-21-1990 (API-ASTM-SAE)
Pressure vessels
23.04.01:00 Portable cylinders for liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG)None
Labelling
59.22.01:00 Textiles, clothing and accessories Mexican Official Standard NOM-004 SCFI-1994
61.21.01:00 Footwear COGUANOR 59.001:98
a This standard is replaced by NSR 67.00.118:99, which corresponds to CX STAN 137-1981.
Source : WTO Secretariat estimates based on data supplied by the Salvadoran authorities.
67. El Salvador has a technical regulation requiring sugar for the domestic market to be fortified
with Vitamin A and packaging to be done in such a way as to protect the vitamin content.25  T h e
purpose of this regulation is to diminish the incidence of ocular lesions caused by Vitamin A
deficiency in people's diets, particularly among lower-income sections of the Salvadoran population.
This technical regulation also applies to sugar imports.
68. CONACYT is required by law to work towards the harmonization, coordination, and
unification of adopted standards with those of other Central American countries in particular, so as tofacilitate trade.  In line with the objectives of the Central American Economic Integration programme
and the establishment of the Central American Common Market, CONACYT also has the task of
harmonizing these standards with those of countries outside Central America.  According to the
authorities, every NSR is identical to an international standard, while all the NSOs are based on
international, regional or foreign standards, departin g from them to the extent necessary to achieve a
legitimate objective.
69. A certificate of NSO consistency is not required for imports into El Salvador.  Random
compliance checks are carried out.
70. CONACYT has accredited seven laboratories, six of them private facilities.  Each laboratory
is accredited for a series of specific tests.   For example, the laboratory of the Ministry of Agricultureis the only laboratory accredited for the analysis of pesticides.  At year's end 2002, El Salvador had no
laboratory recognition agreements with other countries.  It is a member of Interamerican
Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) and Internatio nal Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC)
but does not belong to any regional or international certification body.
(xi) Sanitary and phytosanitary requirements
71. Apart from the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
(SPS Agreement), the main provisions concerning sanitary and phytosanitary measures in El Salvadorare the Law on Plant and Animal Health (Decree No. 524 of 18 December 1995) and the Central
American Regulations on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Procedures (enacted by
Resolution No. 37-99 (COMIECO-XIII) of 17 Septem ber 1999 adopted by Decision of the Ministry
of the Economy No. 473 of 23 September 1999, which was published in Official Journal No. 183,
                                                     
25 Ley de Fortificación del Azúcar con Vitamina "A"  (Law on the Fortification of Sugar with
Vitamin A), enacted by Legislative Decree No. 843 of 14 April 1994, published in Official Journal No. 96,Vol. 323, of 25 May 1994.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
Page 50
Vol. 345, of 4 October 1999).  El Salvador is a member of the Codex Alimentarius and the OIE and is
party to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC – 1991 Amendments).
72. The Directorate-General of Plant and Animal He alth (DGSVA) of the Ministry of Agriculture
and Livestock (MAG) serves as the national enquiry point provided for in paragraphs 3 and 10 of
Annex B of the SPS Agreement.  Between 1995 and October 2002, the DGSVA made 45 notifications
under the Agreement.26
73. The Law on Plant and Animal Health establishes the basic provisions governing plant and
animal health protection in El Salvador and defines the functions of the MAG;  these includediagnosis and epidemiological surveillance of plant and animal pests and diseases;  quarantine control
for plants and animals and plant and animal products;  registration of business inputs for agricultural
use and quality control;  development and implementation of sanitary measures for plant cultivation
and animal husbandry and trade in agricultural inputs;  plant and animal health certification for
agricultural zones, regions and farms in El Salvador (for imports, this can be done by the Ministry ofAgriculture and Livestock abroad);  introduction, production and use of biological pest and disease
control agents for agriculture and livestock;  plant and animal health accreditation and registration for
official purposes;  development of mechanisms to harmonize and coordinate plant and animal health
issues at national and international level;  and registration of firms providing plant and animal health
services.
74. The MAG is empowered to restrict or prohibit the importation and transit of goods on
technical and scientific grounds and where use of the goods is deemed to be harmful to human, animal
or plant life and health.  The current prohibitions or restrictions are as follows:  Importation of pigs,
pig parts, products and by-products and importation of poultry, poultry parts, products and by-
products from countries not recognized by competent international organizations as being free of
List A diseases in the OIE International Animal Health Code;  importation and transit of rice seed
from areas or countries where rice for sowing is infected with kernel smut;  importation of coconut,i.e. the plant material hosting the vector of lethal yellowing of the coconut palm, from affected zones
or countries;  phytosanitary requirements for the importation and transit of fresh fruit and vegetables,
and ornamental, fruit-bearing and forest plants from countries with the pest known as the pink
hibiscus mealy bug.
75. El Salvador applies animal and plant health measures to imports of products and by-products
of animal or plant origin and products and raw materials for agricultural use (see Table III.4 above).
Agricultural quarantine inspectors are responsible for checking the required documents (import
authorizations and animal health certificates).  They also perform physical inspections in order to
ascertain whether animal and plant products and by-pr oducts are disease- and pest-free.  At year-end
2002, El Salvador had not concluded any agreement on recognition of equivalence of pest- or disease-
free areas or areas of low pest or disease prevalence.
76. WTO Members twice drew the attention of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures to difficulties of access to the Salvadoran market.  In the first case, the United States raised
the problems encountered in a number of markets, including El Salvador, as result of discrimination
between the standards for control of salmonella that were applied to imported versus domestic poultryproducts.
27  Uruguay expressed concern regarding the allegedly unjustified rejection of Uruguayan
                                                     
26 The figure refers to notifications received up to end May 2002 (WTO documents of series
G/SPS/N/SLV/).
27 WTO document G/SPS/R/6 of 14 November 1996.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
Page 51
exports of meat and dairy products to El Salvador.28  The authorities explained that the rejection was
prompted by a change in health status due to renewed outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and the
evolution of the disease.
(xii) Government procurement
77. El Salvador is not a party to the WTO Plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement.
78. The Ley de Adquisiciones y Contrataciones de la Administración Pública (Public
Administration Procurement and Contracting Law) entered into force in 2000 (Legislative Decree
No. 868 of 5 April 2000, published in Official Journal No. 88, Vol. 347, of 15 May 2000).  The Lawstandardizes procurement by State-owned institutions, autonomous State agencies (including the Río
Lempa Hydroelectric Executive Commission) and en tities using government funds, and purchases
made with municipal funds.  It does not cover purchases and contracts financed under agreements
with other States or with international organizations, where the agreements so provide;  agreements
among State institutions, where such agreements do not run counter to the purposes of the Law;  andthe contracting of personal services by government institutions.
79. The Public Administration Procurement and Contracting Law provides for the establishment
of a Public Administration Procurement and Contra cting Regulatory Unit (UNAC), attached to the
Ministry of Finance.  This Regulatory Unit is responsible in particular for proposing the annual
procurement and contracting policy for government  institutions;  laying down general policies and
guidelines for designing, implementing, operating and coordinating the public administration
procurement and contracting system;  and establishing and maintaining a national register of public
administration procurement and contracting. Every government institution is setting up an
institutional procurement and contracting unit, in charge of decentralizing operations and managing
all matters relating to the procurement and contracting of works, goods and services.
80. The Law establishes the following types of procurement procedures:  Public bidding or
contracting;  public bidding or contracting by invitation;  free contracting;  direct contracting;  andstock exchange offering.  The type of procurement procedure depends on the value involved:  Public
bidding applies to contracts valued at over 6 35 monthly minimum urban wa ges;  public bidding by
invitation applies to those valued at 80 to 635 monthly minimum urban wages;  free contracting
applies to those valued at under 80 monthly minimum urban wages, subject to quality and price
comparison between at least three bidders (this does not apply to purchasing or contracting notexceeding 10 monthly minimum urban wages);  there is no limit for direct contracting.
29  T h e
threshold values for contracting consultants are lower in the case of public contracting (over
200 minimum urban wages) and public contracting by invitation (between 80 and 200 minimum
urban wages).
81. Each of the above procedures may involve domestic contractors, domestic and foreign
contractors, or only foreign contractors;  this must be specified in each case.  The Law does not
establish a margin of preference for domestic bids, but if a domestic offer is assessed as being equal to
a foreign offer, the procuring entity is required to give preference to the domestic offer, unless the
agreements to which El Salvador is party specify otherwise.  The authorities report that, in practice,
most bidding and contracting terms do not exclude foreign bidders.  By year-end 2002, data was not
yet available regarding the proportion of public bids opened to foreigners.
                                                     
28 WTO document G/SPS/R/17 of 24 February 2000.
29 The current minimum urban wage is C42 per day (US$4.80) or C1,260 per month (US$144).WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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82. Under its regional free-trade agreements with Chile, Panama and the Dominican Republic,
El Salvador has undertaken to grant national treatment to suppliers from the signatory countries for
purchases of goods and services covered by the agreements.30  At CACM level, a Central American
agreement on government procurement is under negotiation.
83. Government procurement for 2001 (excluding purchases by the municipalities) totalled
US$874 million, divided as follows:  Goods (22%), services (54%), and construction (24%).
(3) MEASURES AFFECTING EXPORTS
(i) Registration and documentation
84. Since 1996, there have been no significant changes in export procedures.  Any natural or legal
person wishing to export must enrol in the Exporters Register of the Export Processing Centre ( Centro
de Trámites de Exportación , CENTREX).  The requirements for registering as an exporter include, in
the case of foreign branches not registered in the Trade Register, the production of a power of
attorney, in Spanish and in the corresponding foreign language, authenticated by the Salvadoranconsul in the enterprise’s country of origin and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador.
After registering, the exporter must submit an export application accompanied by the various
documents required, which vary according to the product and the country of destination.  Depending
on the destination,  CENTREX will accept the Central American Single Customs Form ( Formulario
Aduanero Unico Centroamericano , FAUCA) for exports to Central America that comply with the
origin requirements or a Goods Declaration ( Declaración de Mercancías , DM) for the rest.  The
export registration, the FAUCA and the DM are valid for 30 days;  after that, the exporter must apply
to CENTREX for them to be revalidated.  Exports from free zones and inward processing warehouses
are subject to the same requirements with respect to CENTREX.
85. The export application must be accompanied by  a copy of the commercial invoice and, where
appropriate, a certificate of origin, together with the following documents:  animal health certificate,
for products or by-products of animal origin;  proof of inspection of products of animal origin(Inspección de Productos de Origen Animal , IPAO), for meat exports;  proof of bacteriological
analysis, for exports of dairy products to the United States;  proof of chemical treatment, for
ornamental plants, where required;  pre-certification by the Directorate-General of Plant and Animal
Health ( Dirección General de Sanidad Vegetal y Animal ), for basic grains;  free sale certificate issued
by the Directorate-General of Plant and Animal Health, for agricultural chemical products andproducts for veterinary use;  authorization carnet, for fishery products;  and CITES certificate, for
exports of wild flora and fauna.
86. Exports of textiles subject to foreign quotas must also be accompanied by a decision of the
Office of Textile Export Monitoring and Administration ( Oficina de Monitoreo y Administración de
las Exportaciones Textiles , EXPORTEX).  Exports of sugar to the preferential market in the
United States require a permit issued by the Ministry of the Economy, used to monitor exports to that
market.  Finally, to export coffee it is necessary to obtain a permit from the Salvadoran Coffee
Council ( Consejo Salvadoreño del Café ).  The aim of this procedure is to certify the quality of the
coffee and to monitor foreign sales for statistical purposes.
87. The basic quota for clothing exported to the United States under the textile quota for
categories 340/640 of the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing is distributed in accordance with
                                                     
30 Chapter XII of the Free-Trade Agreement between Central America and the Dominican Republic;
Chapter 16 of the Free-Trade Agreement between Central America and Chile;  and Chapter 16 of the Free-TradeAgreement between Central America and Panama.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
Page 53
the historical share of the enterprises exporting to that market.  In the case of textiles and clothing
exported to the United States under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, there is no distribution properly so-
called, but the quota is filled as and when the enterprises export (on the "first come, first served"principle).
(ii) Taxes and minimum prices
88. According to the authorities, since 1996 El Salvador has not applied any taxes or minimum
prices to exports.
(iii) Prohibitions, licences and other restrictions
89. In general, export prohibitions are applied in order to protect the environment or the cultural
heritage or for economic reasons.  At the end of 2002, the only prohibited exports were exports of
plants and animals in danger of extinction, in accordance with the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and exports of gas for domestic
consumption whose price is controlled on the internal market (Section (4) (ii)).  The prohibition on theexport of diesel fuel for public passenger transport was suspended with the abolition of the subsidy on
that fuel as from 27 November 2001.
90. The Ministry of the Economy is responsible for issuing the export quota certificates required
for certain textile products under the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement signed with Mexico.
91. El Salvador does not have any agreements with other countries concerning voluntary
restraints on exports.
(iv) Export cartels
92. The authorities have pointed out that there are no export cartels in the country.  El Salvador
participated in the retention programme promoted by the Association of Coffee Producers, which
ceased operating at the end of 2001 and of which El Salvador was a member.
(v) Export performance requirements
93. El Salvador has no export performance requirements.
(vi) Subsidies
94. In El Salvador exports are promoted mainly through two incentive schemes based on the Law
for the Reactivation of Exports (Legislative Decree No. 460 of 15 March 1990) and the Law on
Industrial and Marketing Free Zones (Legislative  Decree No. 405 of 3 September 1998).  The two
schemes have been notified to the WTO as export subsidy programmes that meet the requirementslaid down in paragraph 2 of document G/SCM/39 (p rocedures for extensions under Article 27.4 of the
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) for certain developing country
Members).
31  The Doha Ministerial Conference instructed the Committee on Subsidies and
                                                     
31 The corresponding notifications are contained in WTO documents G/SCM/N/71/SLV and
G/SCM/N/7/SLV/Suppl.1 of 10 January 2002 and 15 March 2002, respectively.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
Page 54
Countervailing Measures to extend the transition period provided for in Article 27.4 of the SCM
Agreement for subsidy programmes that meet th e requirements laid down in document G/SCM/39.32
95. El Salvador gave as reasons for requesting an extension for the above-mentioned programmes
the need to promote employment, economic development and export diversification.33  The authorities
have noted that the measures which may have to be adopted when the extension requested under
Article 27.4 of the SMC Agreement eventually expires are still being assessed.
96. The Export Reactivation Law grants a refund of 6% of the f.o.b. value of the exports to
natural or legal persons, whether Salvadoran or foreign, owning enterprises that export Salvadoran
goods and services outside the Central American area, except for exports of metallic and non-metallic
mineral products derived from the exploitation of the subsoil.  In principle, traditional products such
as coffee, sugar and cotton, are not eligible for this refund; however, subject to the approval of the
Ministries of Finance and of the Economy, coffee and sugar with at least 30% of local content(calculated on the basis of the value added generated in the factory) may benefit from it (for "organic"
or "gourmet" coffee and refined sugar the refund applies irrespective of local content).  Between 1998
and 2001, Salvadoran exports benefiting from the refund accounted for between 7.6% and 8.2% of
total exports (Table III.7).
Table III.7
Exports under special regimes, 1998-2001
1998 1999 2000 2001
Exports eligible for a 6% refund
US$ million 199,1 190.7 231.4 223.2
as % of total exports 8.2 7.6 7.8 7.8
amounts refunded (US$ million) 11.9 11.4 13.8 13.4
Exports from free zones or inward processing warehouses
US$ million 1,184.7 1,333.4 1.609,0 1,651.4
as % of total merchandise exports 48.5 53.11 54.7 57.6
Source : WTO document G/SCM/Q3/SLV/7, of 14 June 2002, and Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador (2002), Quarterly Review,
October-November-December 2001, San Salvador.
97. Since the previous Trade Policy Review, El Salvador's legal framework for promoting the
establishment and development of free zones has been modernized and brought up to date with the
adoption of a new Law on Industrial and Marketing Free Zones.  This Law applies to enterprises that
operate in free zones or in inward processing warehouses.  The incentives consist of exemption from
various levies and taxes, including duties, income tax and municipal tax (see (vii)).
98. The authorities point out that, apart from the schemes mentioned above, no tax or tariff
concessions are granted in order to promote exports.
(vii) Export processing zones
99. The main purpose of free zones is to promote the creation of greater opportunities for
employment and to contribute to the achievement of sustainable economic growth.  The free zone and
inward processing warehouse programme was introduced by means of the Law on Export Promotion(Legislative Decree No. 81 of 5 September 1974) and repealed by the Law on the Free Zone and Tax-
Free Area Regime (Legislative Decree No. 461 of 15 March 1990), which was repealed in its turn by
                                                     
32 WTO document WT/MIN(01)/17 of 20 November 2001.
33 WTO documents G/SCM/N/74/SLV/1 and G/SCM/N/74/SLV/ of 3 January and 7 January 2002,
respectively.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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the Law on Industrial and Marketing Free Zones (Legislative Decree No. 405 of 3 September 1998)
and its amendment (Legislative Decree No. 464 of 22 October 1998).  As distinct from the previous
Law on the Free Zone and Tax-Free Area Regime, the Law on Industrial and Marketing Free Zones
and its amendment permit beneficiaries to export goods and services to other member countries of the
CACM.  Moreover, the new law exempts beneficiaries from the tax on the transfer of real property
intended for export activity and eliminates the time limits to which various tax exemptions were
subject.
100. The establishment, administration and operation of free zones must be authorized by the
Ministry of the Economy, the surveillance and monitoring of the tax regime in these zones being the
responsibility of the Ministry of Finance.
101. Domestic or foreign enterprises engaged in the production, assembly ( maquila ),
manufacturing, processing or marketing of goods and services may be established and operate in a
free zone.  The new law also explicitly mentions th e provision of services linked to international and
regional trade (such as storage, packing and repacking, re-exportation, grouping of packages, the
distribution of goods and other related or complementary activities) as an activity eligible for the
benefits available in free zones.
102. Where enterprises satisfy the criteria described above but for technical reasons are not located
in free zones, they may apply to the Ministry of the Economy to have their establishment declared anInward Processing Warehouse ( Depósito para Perfeccionamiento Activo , DPA), provided that they
are situated in an industrial, agricultural or agro-industrial zone, their facilities meet the appropriate
industrial, occupational and environmental safety requirements, and they have a stable administrative
and financial structure.
103. The advantages available to users who set up in free zones or inward processing warehouses
include exemption from:
- Import duties on machinery, equipment, tools, parts and accessories, implements, etc.
needed to carry out the activity encouraged;
- import duties on lubricants, catalysts, reagents, fuels and any other consumables
needed for the productive activity;
- income tax during the period in which they carry out their operations in the country,
reckoned from the tax year in which the beneficiary began operating;
- municipal taxes on company assets and net worth, for the period in which they carry
out operations in the country, from the first year of operation;
- tax on the transfer of real property, when purchasing real property to be used for the
activity encouraged.
104. In accordance with the Law on Industrial and Marketing Free Zones, goods and services
produced in free zones may be destined for the Salvadoran market.  However, in this case, the
corresponding import duties, income tax, VAT and municipal taxes are applied.  For tax audit and
payment purposes, enterprises that export goods or services to the Salvadoran market keep a single set
of accounts which serves as a basis for tax assessment by the Ministry of Finance.  In the case of the
manufacturing or marketing of made-up textile products and textiles, only products with a minimumWT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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of 50% local or regional content can be taken into home use;  in this case VAT is levied only on the
local value added component.
105. Where agricultural goods (of HS Chapters 1 to 24) are concerned, a free zone enterprise may
only introduce onto the domestic market a percentage of the total sales equivalent to the contribution
of agricultural raw materials of local origin to the value of the goods in question, and import duties
and the appropriate taxes are applied.
106. The tax concessions and incentives do not apply to certain activities, in particular: hotels;
travel agencies and airlines;  air, sea and land transport;  financial activities;  fishing, except for tunafishing;  mining;  and the production and marketing of sugar, ethyl alcohol, and any product that
contains them.
107. Between 1998 and 2001, the contribution of exports from free zones and inward processing
warehouses to total exports increased from 48.5% to 57.6% (Table III.7).  In 2001, exports generated
by these activities reached US$1,651 million.
108. In December 2001, there were 243 enterprises operating under the free zone programme.  The
investment in these enterprises came from the United  States (16.5% of enterprises), Korea (6.6% ) and
Guatemala (1.6%), as well as from Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and Taipei China (0.4% each).
The great majority of these enterprises were clothing assemblers (143 enterprises), while the rest were
mainly divided up between marketing (31), laundry services (13), textiles and embroidery (10), agro-industrial (10), boxes and containers (3) and waste recycling and packaging enterprises (3).  In
December 2001, the number of people directly employed by enterprises benefiting under the Law on
Industrial and Marketing Free Zones exceeded 81,000;  moreover, these activities led to the creation
of slightly over 162,000 indirect jobs accounting for more than 10% of the Salvadoran labour force.
(viii) Finance, insurance and guarantees
109. The authorities have pointed out that the Government does not intervene directly in any
specific export finance programme.  However, the Salvadoran productive sector has access to theresources of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), which, through the
approved Central American financial institutions, finances credit facilities and special programmes.
CABEI’s programmes include several programmes specifically for exports such as the Programme of
Support for Central American Exportable Production ( Programa de Apoyo a la Producción
Exportable de Centroamérica , PAPECA) and the Programme for Strengthening Central American
Exports ( Programa para el Fortalecimiento de las Exportaciones Centroamericanas , FOEXCA).
These programmes are available to legal persons established in the Central American countries a
majority of whose share capital is held by Central American nationals residing in a Central American
country.  The loan rates are fixed on the basis of international market levels.  Between 1996 and 2002,
under these two programmes CABEI granted loans to  Salvadoran exporters worth approximately
US$250 million.
110. A further source of financing for the Salvadoran productive sector is the Multisectoral
Investment Bank ( Banco Multisectorial de Inversiones , BMI), El Salvador’s development bank.
Created in 1994 with assets contributed entirely by the Central Reserve Bank, the BMI operates as a
second-line bank offering, through the country’s financial institutions, a series of credit facilities forprivate-initiative projects carried out within the national territory.  In December 2001, the  BMI’s loan
portfolio for private-initiative projects amounted to a little over US$218 million, of which almost
5 million corresponded to loans granted to exporters (Table III.8).El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
Page 57
Table III.8
Loans granted by the Multisectoral Investment Bank
(US$ thousand)
Loan programmes 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Agricultural and agro-industrial 45,272 34,833 21,427 20,187 8,708
Construction and housing 36,938 18,639 15,439 13,771 1,537
Export financing 18 9,135 29,301 57,261 34,897
Manufacturing industry 25,815 13,345 13,811 7,014 8,080
Services 40,977 41,355 36,162 19,520 16,927
Micro- and small enterprises 32,855 30,740 29,249 18,616 14,331
Commerce 0 0 27,834 3,458 5,536
Reconstruction programme for the productive sectorsb0000 1 2 8 , 2 4 2
Total 181,875 148,048 173,223 139,828 218,258
a Includes the Environmental Loan Programme ( Programa de Crédito para el Medio Ambiente , FOCAM).
b Created to support the reconstruction of the productive sectors after the earthquakes of January and February 2001.
Source : WTO Secretariat, based on information provided by the Salvadoran authorities.
111. The authorities have pointed out that the Government of El Salvador does not finance any
export insurance or guarantee system.  However, the BMI administers the Agricultural Guarantee
Programme ( Programa de Garantía Agropecuario , PROGARA) which provides additional
guarantees for small enterprises, agricultural sector producers and co-operatives that need them in
order to be able to obtain loans from commercial banks.  The cost of the guarantee is 1% of the
guarantee amount.
(ix) Export promotion and marketing assistance
112. Apart from the Ministry of the Economy and the Directorate-General for Promotion and
Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the main bodies involved in export promotion
activities are:  the Corporation of Salvadoran Exporters ( Corporación de Exportadores de
El Salvador , COEXPORT); the Agricultural and Agro -Industrial Chamber of El Salvador ( Cámara
Agropecuaria y Agroindustrial de El Salvador , CAMAGRO; the Chamber of Commerce and Industry
of El Salvador ( Cámara de Comercio e Industria de El Salvador ); the Salvadoran Association of
Industrialists ( Asociación  Salvadoreña de Industriales , ASI); and the National Private Enterprise
Association ( Asociación Nacional de la Empresa Privada , ANEP).  The services provided by these
organizations generally include: market information; technical assistance and commercial advice;
facilitation of contacts; promotion on international markets; and training.  The authorities have
pointed out that there is coordination between most of  these institutions and the trade missions abroad.
(x) Measures applied in third markets113. Under the rules and disciplines laid down in the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing,
certain Salvadoran clothing exports are subject to quotas in the United States.  The authorities have
noted that at the end of 2002 the only category subject to restrictions of this type was mens/boys plain
weave shirts.
34
114. At the same time, Salvadoran exports qualify for preferential access under various unilateral
concession schemes, such as the Generalized System of Preferences and the Caribbean Basin
Initiative. Moreover,  Salvadoran raw sugar cane exports benefit from tariff quotas granted by the
                                                     
34 Notifications of the administrative arrangements agreed between the United States and El Salvador
appear in WTO documents G/TMB/N/141, G/TMB/N/189/Add.1, G/TMB/N/199 and G/TMB/N/200 of21 February 1996, 31 October 1996 and 29 November 1996, respectively.  For more details on the quotas inforce in the United States, see WTO (2001), Trade Policy Review - United States, IV(2).WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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United States.  In fiscal year 2002 , the quota volume allocated to El Salvador amounted to
27,379 tonnes.  The income associated with these tariff quotas can be considerable; an estimate based
on the difference between the import price for sugar on the United States market and the world marketprice indicates an income of about US$20 million.
35
(4) OTHER MEASURES AFFECTING PRODUCTION AND TRADE
(i) Competition policy
115. El Salvador has no specific competition legislation.  The main legal provisions relating to this
field are to be found in the Constitution, the Commercial and Criminal Codes and some sectoral laws.
116. Article 110 of the Constitution prohibits monopolistic practices, with a view to guaranteeing
free competition and protecting the consumer.  Moreover, this article stipulates that monopolies in
favour of the State or the municipalities may be authorized only if the public interest makes them
indispensable.
117. The Commercial Code requires traders to carry out their activities without harming the public
or the national economy.  However, it authorizes competition-restricting agreements.  In particular, it
permits agreements that restrict the commercial activity of a trader to a place or region or a particular
type of trade, provided that the agreement does not last more than ten years and is not inconsistent
with any constitutional guarantee.  Moreover, the Commercial Code allows agreements that regulate
arrangements relating to the quantity and quality of production or the characteristics of servicesprovided to the public.  If these agreements le ad to the establishment of monopolies or harm the
national economy or the rights of third parties, the injured party may bring an action to have them
legally annulled.
36
118. The main sectoral competition provisions apply to the electrical and telecommunicationssector; in particular, the Regulations Applicable to Electrical Energy Marketing Activities (Executive
Decree No. 90 of 1 November 2000) sets out the ru les for promoting competition in the marketing of
electricity (Chapter IV (4) and (iii)).
119. As far as penalties for offences relating to free competition are concerned, Article 232 of the
Criminal Code provides for four to eight years imprisonment and a fine of 180 to 300 minimum wage
days for anyone who by abusing a position of total or partial market dominance, or by means of
agreements with other persons or enterprises, obstructs, frustrates or distorts the rules of competition
in any of the ways defined in the Code.
37  As of October 2002, no penalties had been imposed under
Article 232 of the Criminal Code.
120. In its previous report, the Secretariat noted that the level of competition in El Salvador was
relatively low and that it was considered necessary to adopt new legislation in this field.  Although no
significant changes have been made at the legislative level, except in the telecommunications sector
(Chapter (IV) (5) (iii)), the authorities have pointed out that during the last ten years the processes ofliberalization and privatization have resulted in a higher level of competition on the Salvadoran
                                                     
35 Estimate based on the sugar prices in force in January 2002 (IMF (2002)), International Financial
Statistics, March 2002.
36 Commercial Code instituted by Legislative Decree No. 671 of 8 May 1970.
37 Criminal Code instituted by Legislative Decree No. 1030 of 30 April 1997.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
Page 59
market.  For their part, the Salvadoran authorities, with the aid of the World Bank, have been working
for several years on the preparation of a draft competition bill.
(ii) Price regulation, production controls, marketing agreements
121. In order to protect the interests of consumers, the Ministry of the Economy is authorized to fix
and adjust the maximum prices of semi-finished and finished consumer goods and staples and of
services deemed to be essential.38  The authorities have pointed out that, since 1996, these powers
have been used on only one occasion:  in 2001 the price of bottled water was regulated during the
state of national emergency declared as a result of the earthquakes suffered at the beginning of theyear.
39
122. At the end of 2002, the Ministry of the Economy was controlling the price of liquefiedpetroleum gas for domestic use up to 35 pounds.
40  This price control is conditional upon the existence
of a subsidy granted to the gas importing companies.  Likewise, the National Water Supply and
Sewage Administration ( Administración Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados , ANDA) regulates
water supply prices, while the General Electricity and Telecommunications Superintendency
(Superintendencia General de Electricidad y Telecomunicaciones , SIGET) regulates electricity and
telephone tariffs.
123. The Salvadoran authorities have pointed out that there are no limitations or controls on
production.
(iii) State trading and State enterprises
124. The Salvadoran authorities have observed that El Salvador does not have State trading
enterprises that export or import goods for marketing, within the meaning of Article XVII of the
GATT.41
125. Since 1996, the Salvadoran State has substantially reduced its involvement in productive and
service-providing activities, in particular through the privatization of entities in the agricultural (saleof a sugar mill), electricity generation (sale of two thermal generating plants) and telecommunications
(sale of the National Telecommunications Administration, ANTEL) sectors.
42 State participation
continues to be significant in the areas of water supply and port, airport and railway (this latter sector
is not active) administration.
(iv) Local content and trade-related investment measures
126. For exports of sugar and coffee to benefit from the advantages offered by the Export
Reactivation Law, at least 30% of the value added to these products in the factory must be of local
origin (Chapter (3) (v)).  Moreover, with respect to products subject to under-supply quotas (at the
                                                     
38 Law on Consumer Protection, Article 5.
39 Executive Decision No. 56 of 18 January 2001, which remained in force for one year.
40 Executive Decision of the Ministry of the Economy No. 881 of 27 November 2000.
41 WTO document G/STR/N/6/SLV of 7 March 2001.
42 See Chapter IV.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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end of 2002, rice in the husk and various meat products), only those processing industries that
purchase part of the domestic production may at the same time import these products duty-free.
127. El Salvador has not notified any trade-related investment measure.
(v) Incentives
128. Under the new General Law on the Organization and Promotion of Fishing and Aquaculture
(Legislative Decree No. 637 of 6 December 2001, published in Official Journal No. 240 of19 December 2001), which repealed the General Law on Fishing Activities, the tax incentives granted
to the fisheries sector have been abolished.  Up to the end of 2001, these incentives were available to
Salvadoran natural or legal persons engaged in catching and marketing fish and consisted of total or
partial exemption from import duties on: building materials for factory construction or extension;
vessels and machinery, equipment, tools, parts and accessories necessary for their operation;  fishinggear and equipment;  fuel and lubricants for the exclusive use of the vessels;  and equipment, tools,
parts and accessories necessary for marketing fishery products.  Fuels and lubricants were exempt
from the payment of not only import duties but also domestic consumption taxes, provided that they
were produced in the country.
129. The Salvadoran productive sector has access to various financing programmes including, in
particular, the programmes administered by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration
Bank (CABEI), the Multisectoral Investment Bank (BMI) and the Salvadoran Foundation for
Economic and Social Development (FUSADES).
130. CABEI's two main programmes, apart from those intended primarily for exporters
(Chapter (III) (3) (vi)), are the Programme of  Support for Central American Micro-and Small
Enterprises ( Programa de Apoyo a la Micro y Pequeña Empresa Centroamericana , PROMYPE) and
the Fund for the Support of Small Industry in Central America ( Fondo de Apoyo a la Pequeña
Industria en América Central , FAPIC).  PROMYPE is a lending, training, advisory and technical
assistance programme aimed at strengthening the Central American micro- and small enterprise
sector.  This Fund, created in 1995, was launched with US$50 million, of which El Salvador was ableto use one fifth.  The amount of credit granted to each enterprise was restricted to a maximum of
US$10,000 for micro-enterprises (up to five employees) and US$75,000 for small enterprises (up to
forty employees).  FAPIC provides credit facilities and technical assistance for small industry.  Loans
are restricted to US$50,000 for small and US$150,000 for medium-sized enterprises.  Between 1996
and 2001, the Salvadoran productive sector received loans amounting to a little over US$50 millionchannelled through PROMYPE and FAPIC.
131. The BMI runs several financial programmes for promoting economic development in
El Salvador.  These include the Industrial Building Trust ( Fideicomiso de Techo Industrial , FITEX),
the Private Free Zone Development Programme ( Programa de Desarrollo de Zonas Francas
Privadas ),  and the Integrated Coffee-Growing Renewal Programme ( Programa Integral de
Renovación de la Caficultura ).  In 2001, the credit facilities granted by the BMI amounted to a little
over US$218 million, channelled mainly into programmes for the post-earthquake reconstruction of
the productive sectors and export financing (Table III.8).
132. The aim of the Industrial Building Trust (FITEX) is to promote the creation of development
centres in the less developed areas of the country.  For this purpose it encourages the construction and
acquisition of industrial space in free zones outside the metropolitan area of San Salvador.  FITEX
grants compensation (equivalent to three percentage points for three years) for the interest rate on
loans obtained through financial institutions that ha ve signed agreements with the BMI, provided theyEl Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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are to be used for erecting and/or acquiring factory buildings in free zones, industrial estates or factory
building projects outside the metropolitan area of  San Salvador.  FITEX was set up with resources
derived from the privatization of ANTEL.  By the end of 2002, the BMI had granted US$220,000through FITEX.
133. As part of its programme for exports, the BMI also offers credit facilities for the development
of private free zones through which it finances up to three-quarters of the total development cost or
the cost of acquiring or erecting industrial buildings in private free zones.  By the end of 2002, thisprogramme had granted loans worth more than US$17 million for financing the construction of
117,654 sq. m of industrial space.
134. The BMI also runs a specific programme fo r improving and modernizing the coffee-growing
sector.  The purpose of this programme, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture
and Livestock, is to improve the productivity of the coffee-growing sector and support its productive
restructuring.  In addition to its financial component, the programme has a technical component,
which provides entrepreneurs with a technical appraisal of their project and support with its
application in the field.  This programme has as its target the renewal of 25% of the Salvadoran
coffee-growing sector and has been allocated resources equivalent to US$100 million which are beingchannelled through the commercial banks in the form  of loans with a 15-year term, a five-year grace
period and an interest rate of 9% per annum. By December 2000, 326 plantation appraisals had been
drawn up and investments amounting to some US$20 million had been approved.
135. The Salvadoran Foundation for Economic a nd Social Developmen t (FUSADES) promotes
production in El Salvador mainly through the Investment Promotion ( Promoción de Inversiones ,
PRIDEX) and Promotion of Small and Micro-Enterprises ( Promoción de la Pequeña y Microempresa ,
PROPEMI) programmes. PRIDEX chiefly involves the promotion of the country's image to
encourage business and cooperation agreements between Salvadoran and foreign enterprises.
PROPEMI offers advisory, credit and training services for small and micro-enterprises.  The loans are
specifically intended for the following sectors:  industry;  agro-industry;  non-industrial fishing;
commerce;  and services.  The interest rates applied correspond to the average on the banking market.By the end of December 2000, some 16,300 loans, totalling more than US$92 million, had been
granted.
(vi) Assistance for industrial adjustment and research and development
136. The Salvadoran authorities have pointed out that there are no official programmes of
assistance either for individuals or enterprises or for regions or specific sectors to facilitate
modernization and adjustment to structural change.
137. In 1998, expenditure in El Salvador on research and development (R&D) amounted to
US$9.65 million or 0.081% of GDP for that year.  The Salvadoran Government contributed 52% toR&D expenditure, while non-governmental organizations and foreign governments, universities and
business contributed 34, 13 and 1%, respectively.
43
138. The authorities have pointed out that, within the context of their strategy to develop and
strengthen the economic infrastructure, they have programmed measures intended to develop theinfrastructure necessary to establish a system of technological innovation that will promote productive
restructuring and the competitiveness of the Salvadoran economy by encouraging the establishment
                                                     
43 National Council of Science and Technology (1999), Science and Technology Statistics and
Indicators, 1994-1998 [on line].  Available at: http://www.conacyt.gob.sv/ , 14 July 2002.WT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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and strengthening of centres of applied technology research and development that will act as catalysts
for technological progress.  To this end, the National Council of Science and Technology
(CONACYT) plans to set up a National System of Science, Technology and Innovation ( Sistema
Nacional de Cicencia, Tecnología e Innovación , SINACTI).
139. The BMI is considering a financing system for technological development through which
grants would be channelled into small and medium-sized enterprises to support innovation and
product marketing.
(vii) Intellectual property rights
(a) Introduction
140. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS
Agreement) was incorporated into the Salvadoran legislation as a result of the ratification of the
Marrakesh Agreement; this Agreement entered into force in El Salvador on 1 January 2000.  In
addition, El Salvador is a signatory to several other international agreements on intellectual property
rights and a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (Table AIII.1).
141. As required by the TRIPS Agreement, El Salvador has notified WTO Members of its laws
and regulations relating to intellectual property rights (IPR) and has provided information on its
national enforcement system (Tables AIII.3 and AIII.2).  On the basis of these notifications, the
Council for TRIPS reviewed the Salvadoran IPR legislation in 2000.44  The National Registration
Centre (CNR) is the contact point specified in Article 69 of the TRIPS Agreement.45  Previously
assigned to the Ministry of Justice, the CNR became part of the Ministry of the Economy when the
interior, security and justice portfolios were reshuffled in mid-2001.  The Ministry of the Economy,through the Trade Policy Directorate, is responsible for formulating and implementing Salvadoran
intellectual property policy.
142. The Salvadoran authorities consider that the main advantage of implementing the TRIPS
Agreement has been the greater awareness on the part of Salvadorans of the relevance of intellectualproperty to El Salvador’s economic life.  The Government has tried to encourage creativity and
research through various services provided by the Intellectual Property Registry, such as legal
assistance with the protection of new inventions or the holding of annual events such as the
“Inventiveness Show”, which aims to promote these new inventions.
143. El Salvador has also entered into commitments with respect to IPR under various free trade
agreements it has signed, in particular the Free Trade Agreement between Central America and the
Dominican Republic, the Agreement between Mexico and the Republics of El Salvador, Guatemala
and Honduras, the Free Trade Agreement between Central America and Chile, and the Free Trade
Agreement between Central America and Panama, whose entry into force is pending.
144. According to the data contained in the National Registration Centre’s Intellectual Property
Register, the great majority of rights registered and applied for as of June 2002 correspond to
trademarks, followed by trade names, advertisin g slogans and patents.  Most of the owners of
                                                     
44 The questions asked and El Salvador’s replies can be found in document IP/Q/SLV/1 of
18 August 2000.
45 WTO document IP/N/3/Rev.6 of 1 March 2002.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
Page 63
trademarks, patents and industrial designs are foreigners;  on the other hand, where trade names and
advertising slogans are concerned, most of the owners are Salvadorans (Table III.9).
Table III. 9
Registration of IPR, 2002
Nationality of  holder (%) Type of right Total
Salvadoran Foreign
Trademarks 100,463 33.4 66.6
Trade names 7,232 86.5 13.5
Advertising slogans 4,512 82.6 17.4
Patents 3,325 10.6 89.4
Utility models 53 54.7 45.3
Industrial designs 218 39.9 60.1
Copyright 3,257 .. ..
.. Not available.
Source: WTO Secretariat, based on information provided by the Salvadoran authorities.
(b) Copyright and related rights
145. The Law on the Promotion and Protection of Intellectual Property (LFPPI) protects all
literary, artistic and scientific works, whatever their mode or form of expression, merit or purpose,
provided they are original.  It also protects translations, adaptations, alterations and arrangements, as
well as anthologies and compilations of assorted works or data or other materials, including databases,
in machine readable or other form.  The term of protection, if the author is a natural person, is the lifeof that person and 50 years after his or her death, in favour of his heirs or successors in title;  in the
case of an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work whose author has not been revealed, or a legal
person, the term of protection is 50 years from first publication or, failing that, from the making or
dissemination of the work.  The Law on the Promotion and Protection of Intellectual Property treats
the moral and economic rights of the author separately.
146. Theatrical presentation and musical performance contracts, which may be entered into for a
specified period or for a specified number of public presentations or performances, are protected.
Performers’ rights are protected for 50 years from the first of January of the year following the year of
performance, where unfixed performances are concerned, or of publication,  if the performance is
recorded on a phonographic or audiovisual medium.
147. Also regulated are matters relating to phonogram inclusion contracts in which the author of a
musical work authorizes a phonogram producer, without exclusivity and subject to remuneration, to
record or fix a work for reproduction purposes.  This authorization does not include the right of public
performance of the work.  On the other hand, phonogram producers authorized under a phonogram
inclusion contract have the right to authorize or prohibit the reproduction of their phonograms, as well
as the importation, rental, distribution to the public or other use, by any method or means, of copies of
their phonograms.
148. The LFPPI stipulates that, in the field of copyright, the holder of the right may import, export
or authorize the importation or exportation of legally produced copies of his works.
149. In the case of phonogram inclusion contracts and broadcasting organizations that broadcast
programmes to the public, the rights of the phonogram producers and broadcasting organizations areWT/TPR/S/111 Trade Policy Review
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protected for a period of 50 years from the first of January of the year following that of first fixation
of the sounds incorporated in the phonogram or in which the broadcast took place.
150. El Salvador does not make exceptions to or grant exemptions from national treatment for
foreigners who publish their works in El Salvador.  The law applies without distinction to nationals
and foreigners alike.
151. Salvadoran legislation recognizes the principle of protection of copyright without the need for
any formalities.  The formalities associated with the filing of works protected under the law do not
create rights and are only declaratory, their purpose being to provide the owners with greater legalcertainty and to serve as evidence of their rights.
152. Computer programs are protected as litera ry works, enjoying protection for a period of
50 years from first publication or, failing that, completion.  Likewise, compilations of assorted works,
data or databases, in machine readable or other form, which by reason of the selection or arrangement
of their contents constitute original creations, are protected by law.
(c) Patents
153. The LFPPI establishes the right to obtain protection for an invention, utility model or
industrial design, “invention” being taken to mean a product or process capable of practical
application for solving a specific technical problem.  The following are excluded from patentability:
discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;  plans, rules and methods relating to purelymental or intellectual pursuits, game playing or economic and business activities;  diagnostic,
therapeutic and surgical methods for the treatment of  humans or animals, except for products intended
to put any of these methods into practice;  and inventions whose publication or industrial or
commercial application would be contrary to public order or morality.
154. Patents are granted for a term of 20 years, without possibility of extension, from the date of
filing of the application in the CNR's Intellectual Property Register.
155. In the case of medicines (drugs), the LFPPI stipulates that patents are granted for a term of
15 years, without possibility of extension, from the date of filing of the application in the CNR's
Intellectual Property Register.  Nevertheless, the authorities have pointed out that under the
Constitution, since international treaties concluded by El Salvador with other States or internationalorganizations constitute laws of the Republic on entering into force (Chapter (II) (2) (ii)), following
the entry into force of the TRIPS Agreement patents in general, including drug patents, are protected
for 20 years, without possibility of extension, from the date of filing of the application with the trade
registry.
156. A compulsory licence to use a patent may only be granted in declared cases of emergency or
in situations involving national security, for as long as they exist, provided it is necessary to meet the
basic needs of the population.  Such licences are non-assignable and non-exclusive and are granted by
the competent court which establishes adequate remuneration for the patent owner according to the
circumstances of each case, taking into account the economic value of the authorization, together withthe mode of payment.  As of the end of 2002, El Salvador had never granted any compulsory licences.
157. Protection for plant varieties is provided only through patents.El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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(d) Trademarks
158. Trademarks and other distinctive signs are protected under the new Law on Trademarks and
Other Distinctive Signs which has replaced the previous Central American Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property;  this Law regulates matters relating to trademarks, collective
trademarks, commercial advertising slogans a nd signs, trade names, emblems, geographical
indications, actions and penalties for the infringement of rights, unfair competition and border
measures.  According to the authorities, the principal advantage of the new Trademarks Law is itscomplete consistency with the quality standards of the TRIPS Agreement.
159. The rights conferred by the registration of a trademark remain in effect for ten years from the
date of registration, a term which may be renewed indefinitely for successive 10-year periods
calculated from the date on which it last expired.  With the new Law, El Salvador has extended thescope of protection not only to well-known trademarks , in accordance with the provisions of the Paris
Convention, but also to all well-known distinctive signs. The new legislation does not contain any
provision requiring use to maintain a registration.
160. The owner of a trademark may, under contract, grant a licence to use that mark to one or more
persons, with or without exclusivity, for a specific territory or area.  The contract licensing use of the
mark must be entered in the Intellectual Property Register and only has effect vis-à-vis third parties
from the date of registration.
161. In relation to industrial property, the Law on Trademarks and Other Distinctive Signs
establishes that, if so stipulated in a contract licensing the use of a foreign trademark duly entered in
the Register, the licensee may prevent the importation of products which, under cover of the licensedtrademark, are to be introduced into the country for commercial purposes.
(e) Industrial designs162. Under the provisions of the LFPPI, industrial designs are protected for a period of five years
from the date of filing of the application, renewable for a further five years.  This protection does not
exclude or affect the protection available to such designs under other legal provisions, in particular
those relating to copyright.  There is no protection for industrial designs which are not considered to
be new, that is to say, merely differ in minor or secondary respects from other earlier designs or
merely refer or apply to another category of products;  nor is protection granted to designs whoseexploitation would be contrary to public order or morality.
(f) Layout-designs of integrated circuits163. A draft secondary bill that would regulate all aspects of layout-designs (topographies) of
integrated circuits is currently being studied.
(g) Protection of undisclosed information164. The LFPPI defines and protects industrial and trade secrets.  This protection is afforded
whether or not the secrets are fixed in a mate rial medium and does not require registration.
165. With respect to Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement relating to pharmaceutical and
agricultural chemical products, undisclosed information submitted to the Salvadoran authorities to
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holding that information as an industrial or commercial secret is not considered to be in the public
domain, since it is legally protected, whether or not fixed in a material medium.
166. There are no provisions permitting a third party to use undisclosed information protected by
law without the authorization of whoever legitimately holds the secret or information, nor is there any
provision establishing time limits for its protection since the undisclosed information is protected as
long as the requirements of Article 177 of the LFPPI are met.
(h) Geographical indications
167. Geographical indications and appellations of origin are regulated by the Law on Trademarks
and Other Distinctive Signs, which establishes a registration procedure for geographical indications
and appellations of origin.  This grants protection to domestic appellations of origin as well as toappellations of origin on products coming from abroad.  Moreover, the new Law stipulates that a
geographical indication may not be used in the course of trade in relation to a product or service
where that indication is false or misleading with respect to the geographical origin of the product or
service or if its use might create confusion in the mind of the public with respect to the origin, source,
characteristics or qualities of the product.
168. A trader who adopts a geographical name as a trademark cannot prevent producers and
traders associated with the place designated by that name from using it to indicate, fairly and
truthfully, the source of their products (or services).  In accordance with trademark law, geographical
names may only constitute trademarks if their relationship with the product (or service) they
distinguish is arbitrary or capricious.  If the adoption of a geographical name as a trademark would be
misleading with respect to the place of origin or th e characteristics of the product to which the mark is
applied, that name may not constitute a valid mark.
169. Mere indications of provenance and appellations of origin or signs that could indicate a false
provenance, nature or quality may not be used or registered as trademarks or as elements thereof.
(i) Enforcement of intellectual property rights
170. In recent years, El Salvador has made efforts to ensure compliance with the IPR legislation, in
particular by setting up a specialized intellectual property unit within the Office of the Attorney
General of the Republic ( Fiscalía General de la República ).  Moreover, the Salvadoran authorities
have pointed out that the Ministry of the Economy has endeavoured to coordinate all the relevant
institutions, including the judicial authorities, the national civilian police force ( Policía Nacional
Civil ), the Directorate-General of Customs Revenue ( Dirección General de Renta de Aduanas ), the
National Registration Centre and the Office of the Attorney General.
171. The authorities have pointed out that the Intellectual Property Unit is a very useful tool for
combating the abuse of intellectual property rights in El Salvador.  In 2001, the Unit doubled the
number of its operations, making 120 searches.  Moreover, the authorities have pointed out that in
almost all cases the legal proceedings were concluded very quickly once the injured party had lodged
a complaint, these being publicly actionable offences prosecutable at the instance of a private
individual.  In accordance with the provisions in for ce, IPR infringers are liable to imprisonment for
one to three years.  In cases of aggravated infringement of copyright or related rights, the penalty may
be increased to five years imprisonment (details of the provisions relating to IPR enforcement are
given in Table AIII.2).El Salvador WT/TPR/S/111
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172. The authorities have also drawn attention to the cooperation between the Government of
El Salvador and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Association of Medium and Small
Entrepreneurs ( Asociación de Medianos y Pequeños Empresarios , AMPES) in the development of a
national computer program legalization campaign, launched in 2001.  Within this context, the
Government institutions have prepared an inventor y of their software programs and licences with a
view to purchasing any licences that may be lack ing.  The campaign has also had the cooperation of
important trade unions which have organized seminars and activities aimed at providing their
members with guidance in respect of the legalization of their programs.
173. In addition, various IP-related institutions have engaged in numerous promotion activities
involving the organization of workshops and seminars for the benefit of various sectors of Salvadoran
society, businessmen, students and the general public, in order to foster a culture of respect for
intellectual property rights.
174. Despite the progress made in recent years, some holders of intellectual property rights
consider that an adequate level of enforcement of these rights has not yet been achieved.46  Reaching
this goal is important not only within the multilateral context but also to ensure the preferential access
accorded to El Salvador by the United States within the framework of its Generalized System of
Preferences and the Caribbean Basin Initiative (Chapter (II) (4) (ii)), access which is important for
Salvadoran exports.
                                                     
46 Report on El Salvador by the International Intellectual Property Alliance, available on its Internet site
at http://www.iipa.com/rbc/2002/2002SPEC301ELSALVADOR.pdf.