With sponsorship of Eurocustoms, a WCO National Workshop on the modernization of El Salvador's Customs Laboratory was held in the headquarters of El Salvador Customs, in San Salvador (San Bartolo), from 12 to 14 September 2016. At the opening of the Workshop, the Director of the Technical Unit of El Salvador Customs, Mr. Walter Melendez, highlighted the importance of a Customs Laboratory for the correct classification of certain commodities in the Harmonized System (HS) and thanked the representatives from the WCO Secretariat's Tariff and Trade Affairs Directorate for facilitating the discussions on the modernization of the Customs Laboratory. El Salvador has one single central standard Customs Laboratory located in San Salvador (San Bartolo).

During the Workshop about 40 participants from the Technical Area discussed relevant areas of analytic methodology, methods validation, and quality assurance. The role played by the Customs Laboratory in the HS classification was discussed in detail. A wide range of topics related to the HS and Customs Laboratories were addressed and the participants were also thoroughly informed about the amendments to the chemical area in HS 2017 and about several databases and documentation specifically designed for the day to day routine in a Customs Laboratory. Moreover, special attention was paid to the HS classification of medicaments and food supplements in El Salvador. Participants were also informed about the efforts of the WCO Secretariat in promoting cooperation and networking between Customs Laboratories and, in particular, about the WCO Regional Customs Laboratories initiative.