Money in the pocket for every grandstanding politician and every wannabe business consultant, logistics in Central America is a much talked about theme on which no action is actually taken.
EDITORIAL
Logistics is vital for sustainable economic development, and it is perhaps the area of business management that has made the greatest strides in the last 50 years.
Now is the time to fulfill the clear mandate of the Presidents of the Central American Integration System for the establishment of a Customs Union in Central America.
From a statement issued by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Central America (FECAMCO):
The Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Central America (FECAMCO) held in San José, the transfer of chairmanship of this regional entity to the Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica for the period 2015.
In order to expedite intraregional trade it is necessary for customs offices dealing with cargo freight, to be open all hours, just as immigration customs offices are.
A study commissioned by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Central America (Fecamco) concluded that there are 87 barriers to trade in the region, one of the major ones being operations of the systems at customs offices at borders, followed by bureaucratic requirements and lack of adequate infrastructure.
Costa Rican customs offices do not have enough staff to handle the flow of cargo from Panama to the rest of Central America.
While on the Panamanian side there are about 25 people to process documents from carriers, on the Costa Rican side there are only 5 staff members to carry out these duties.
The situation occurs at a time when "the international freight activity going from Paso Canoas to Central America has increased by 50 % ...
Preparations are being made for a single form that will streamline customs trade ahead of the entry into force of the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union.
According to the president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep), Joseph Adam Aguerri, already working on this issue are the Central American Integration System (SICA), and the Secretariat of Central American Economic Integration (SIEC).
There is a requirement to avoid duplicate collection of customs duties levied on imports in order to meet the provisions of the trade pact with the European Union.
The commissioner of Customs at the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) in Guatemala, Oscar Funes, referred to the commitments made by the region in the signing of the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union, signed on 29 June.
Advances made in the past two years in the Central American customs offices are still not sufficient, and related costs amount to 38% of logistics costs.
The best advances have been made in customs processes relating to merchandise transported between Central American countries.
Investigating the topic Elnuevodiario.com.ni reports that "The biggest problem is imports from countries like the U.S.
Instead of being reduced, bureaucracy at the Central American borders is becoming increasingly burdensome, complicating and making intra regional trade more expensive.
Constant delays which increase transportation costs, lack of progress in the streamlining of customs procedures and a perceived stagnation of the customs and economic integration project are the most pressing problems observed by business associations in Central America.
Central American representatives have approved various technical regulations for the regional customs union.
Among the regulations adopted are those relating to labeling and product registration.
Also under discussion in the meeting, was the process of Panama’s incorporation into the Central American Economic Integration Secretariat (SIEC), a requirement that Panama needs to meet in order to take part of the Association Agreement with the European Union.