The Argentinian government adopted, on 22 August, 2022, new Mercosur rules concerning the inland transport of dangerous goods, covering both road and rail transport. 

Currently, the transport of dangerous goods in and between Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) is regulated by a series of agreements established starting in 1994 (Mercosur Decisions 2/94, 14/94, 32/07 and 19/09). While maintaining the overall system, new rules introduced by Decision 15/19 will adapt it to align with changes in other global and international regulatory frameworks. 

Mercosur rules must be adopted individually by Member States, and become applicable once they have been ratified by all of them. While the initial deadline for adoption by Member States was July 1, 2020, only Uruguay and Argentina have completed their domestic transposition process. 
 

Chemical policies are rapidly developing in Latin America. National Chemical Regulations are the main focus of regional cooperations as well as projects initiated by international organizations. A number of countries have been drafting chemical management frameworks. Countries like Brazil, Chile and Colombia are taking a step further to put these regulations in place. Here is the summary of what you should expect for compliance requirements in Latin America in 2022:

• Argentina is expected to publish a more comprehensive and revised draft regulation since the last draft version dates from September 2019.
• Brazil progressed with its chemical regulatory law in December 2021 when the Deputies’ House Environmental Commission approved the bill. The draft still must be approved by another three in-house commissions after formal sanction.
• Colombia is the most recent country to enact its chemical management in November 2021. Colombia will likely announce its National Inventory in May/June 2022.
• Costa Rica has been involved in several meetings for technical and operational discussions involving chemical administration. Costa Rica is focusing on first implementing the Registry of Releases and Transfers of Pollutants (RETC in Spanish).
• Chile, the first country in Latin America to adopt a solid framework for chemicals, is waiting to publish the risk assessment criteria and guidelines to drive chemicals prioritization. The National Inventory only comes in 2025.
• Peru's single regulatory draft bill was submitted for public comments in September 2020, which is still under process. However, the country has been moving closer to OECD membership, signaling a resumption of activities.