After Costa Rica, with the intention of mitigating the spread of the covid-19, decreed restrictions on cargo transport units entering its territory, the Nicaraguan government ordered the closure of the Peñas Blancas border post.
Changes in legislation restricting the use of disposable plastic containers and packaging force companies to look for other options, some of which could be up to five times more expensive.
In El Salvador, the industrialists' guild asked the Legislative Assembly to be taken into account in the discussion on the prohibition of plastic in the country, since they believe it is convenient to regulate its use, but not to restrict it.
After in October 2018, a bill was presented to the Legislative Assembly (still under discussion) that establishes a one-year deadline for companies to replace the use of plastic bags by articles of other materials, directors of the Salvadoran Association of Industrialists (ASI), ask to be taken into account in the process.
In Costa Rica, the Legislative Assembly ratified the ban on the import, marketing and distribution of expanded polystyrene containers, better known as styrofoam.
With the approval in Second Debate of file 19.833 "Addition of an article 42 bis, a paragraph d) to article 50 and the transitory XIII, XIV and XV to the Law for the Integral Management of Waste, No.
On April 28, a ban on the import and marketing of high-sulphur diesel began in El Salvador.
At the end of November 2018, the Legislative Assembly approved a ban on the import and commercialization of fuels with a high sulfur content, mainly diesel for vehicular use, which must be applied in its entirety based on the resolution of the Council of the Minister of Economic Integration of Central America (COMIECO), where a commitment is signed to import and commercialize only fuels with a low sulfur content.
In El Salvador, the Legislative Assembly approved a ban on the importation and commercialization of fuels with a high Sulphur content, mainly diesel for vehicular use.
From the Legislative Assembly statement:
According to the Legislative Assembly, the import and commercialization of fuels with a high sulfur content was banned, mainly diesel for vehicular use, which must be fully applied based on the resolution of the Consejo de Ministro de Integración Económica de Centroamérica (COMIECO), where a commitment to import and commercialize only fuels with a low sulfur content was signed.
The proposed law presented in the Legislative Assembly establishes a period of one year for companies to replace the use of plastic bags with articles of other materials.
The proposal to replace in the country the use of plastic bags made of polyethylene or conventional plastic with articles made of other materials, was presented by Representative Milena Mayorga from the party Arena.
The recently approved law prohibits exploration, extraction, exploitation and processing, at the surface or underground, and the use of toxic chemicals in any metal mining process.
In El Salvador the metal mining business does not have much significance, since up until now the income resulting from this activity has been very low.In 2013 the value of exported ores was only $1.3 million, going up to $1.6 million in 2014, and falling to $600,000 in 2015.
Members of the ruling party in El Salvador have once again taken up the issue of the proposed banning, without any technical foundation, of the use of 53 agrochemicals in the country.
Although in 2013 the Executive made observations on the decree purporting to completely prohibit the use of the 53 products , arguing that some were already prohibited by international standards and asking for scientific studies for the remaining, once again there has been an attempt to pass the measure without taking into account its effects on agriculture.
The United States has lifted the ban which has been in place since 2001 and authorized the resumption of imports of fresh beef from northern Argentina and 14 Brazilian states.
From a statement by the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
APHIS to Allow the Importation of Fresh Beef from Northern Argentina and 14 States in Brazil
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending its regulations to allow the importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from two regions in South America under specific conditions that mitigate the risk of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the first step in a process for these regions to gain access to the U.S. market for beef. The two regions are:
Within a period of three years all processed foods containing partially hydrogenated oils must be removed from the US market.
From a press release issued by the FDA:
Based on a thorough review of the scientific evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today finalized its determination that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not “generally recognized as safe” or GRAS for use in human food. Food manufacturers will have three years to remove PHOs from products.
The measure announced by the Salvadoran government applies to the import of live pigs, meat and meat products.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance of El Salvador:
The prohibition of the importation of pigs from Guatemala is being maintained
The Directorate General of Livestock, at the Ministry of Agriculture reports that the restriction on the import of live pigs will be maintained, as well as fresh, cured, frozen meat, semen or other genetic material of porcine origin, from Guatemala.
The Federal Office of Agriculture has banned the use of the ripening accelerator ethephon in foods sold in the country.
From a statement issued by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer):
The Federal Office for Agriculture in Switzerland has banned the use of the ripening accelerator ethephon because in 2013 they found tomatoes with traces of this chemical.
Three neonicotinoid pesticides used in growing plants and cereals have been banned because they are considered harmful to bees.
Prensa.com reports that "the products in question are clothianidin and imidacloprid, produced by Bayer, and thiamethoxam, manufactured by the Swiss firm Syngenta, who has appealed against the ban before the European Court."
The Legislature will not accept Presidential comments on Act 53 which prohibits the use of agrochemicals, and will only increase the timeframe for their withdrawal.
The Committee on the Environment and Climate Change in Congress has set a deadline of one year for a ban on the sale of the pesticide "Paraquat" and two years for other products.
From a press release issued by the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador: