Since that time, however, increasingly large public deficits have nudged public debt back upward. During a recent visit, a representative from the World Bank announced that no new World Bank loans would be available to Paraguay until it allocated and properly accounted for existing loans. Paraguay continues to meet its obligations to foreign creditors in a timely fashion. Indirect U.S. contributions via the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank and United Nations programs totaled tens of millions of dollars more. U.S. companies have not fared well in non-transparent government procurement tenders.
Paraguayan regulations require country of origin designation on domestic and imported products.
Expiration dates are required for medical products and some consumer goods. As of January 1998, imported beer is required to display detailed manufacture and content information, labeled in Spanish at the point of bottling. A similar regulation was put in place for shoes. This law requires that to break a contractual relation with its Paraguayan distributor, the foreign company must prove just cause in a Paraguayan court. If the relationship is ended without just cause, the foreign company must pay an indemnity.