Because Costa Rica has imposed several restrictions on the movement of goods entering its territory, the Guatemalan government announced that it will apply reciprocal measures to Costa Rican transporters from June 9.
A new information platform aims to identify the main disadvantages faced by companies that transport goods through the region in customs and paperwork management.
The Central American Economic Integration Secretariat (Sieca) presented the Trade Incidences Platform, which will compile information on the disadvantages that companies have in the areas of customs, transport, sanitary procedures, phytosanitary, import or export.
The region is expected to conclude 2018 with a rise of just over 4% in the volume exported and just 3.6% in value, due to the fall in international prices of several agricultural products.
According to the International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2018, published by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), it is expected that this year Central America will export larger volumes at lower prices.
Businesses have reported difficulties when using the system that generates the invoice and the Central American single statement form and state that the three integrated customs offices are not working.
Integration of customs systems in Honduras and Guatemala started three months ago, but not in the agile way that the companies that trade in the region had hoped for.
From this year these three products will be traded duty-free under the DR-CAFTA agreement.
The tariff reduction process that started with the entry into force of the free trade agreement with the United States and Central America has now reached completion for rum, flour and fats exported from Guatemala.
"...The first product is rum, which in 2006, when the trade agreement came into effect, had a tariff base of 40 percent.Last year, the import tax had reached 3.3 percent and this year it is zero.Other products that are in the same situation are the residues from the treatment of animals and plant fats (other than poultry, cattle and pigs) and flour from wheat or morcajo (meslin), according to the Ministry of Economy."
Exporters resent the strength of the local currency against the dollar, which reduces competitiveness at a time when export volumes are falling.
Since the beginning of the year until mid-August, the price of the Quetzal against the dollar has gone from Q7,63 per dollar to Q7,50, a difference of 13 cents resulting in a decrease of competitiveness for exporters and sectors that generate revenue in the US currency.
Losses of up to $1 million a day in exports are being reported due to demonstrations which have closed off Customs offices in Tecun Uman, El Carmen and La Mesilla for the last 8 days.
Although the union of exporters has tried to contact the Mexican authorities to end the blockade that is preventing the free movement of goods from Guatemala to Mexico, the problem has not been resolved and customs offices have now been paralyzed for eight days.
The Honduran investment promotion office has sent a letter of invitation to entrepreneurs who lost their tax exemptions in Guatemala.
Honduras is looking to attract investment from Guatemala citing two advantages over its competitors: tax incentives on exports and port infrastructure in the Caribbean.
The person responsible for promoting foreign investment in Honduras, Vilma Sierra, sent a letter of invitation to the businessmen who lost their tax exemptions in Guatemala. The letter sent alarm bells ringing for Guatemalan union leaders because of the resemblance they have with the Honduran market, and the tax incentives they have lost and poor port infrastructure available.
Honey, flowers, coffee, textiles and tropical fruit are among the products that can take advantage of the tariff conditions of the trade agreement with Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.
The free trade agreement with EFTA, comprising Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland opens the doors to four countries with high purchasing power and complementary conditions in Guatemala in the production and marketing of certain products.
Problems in making online payments and in the operation of customs have worsened since the fraud network was dismantled.
The dismantling of the network of officials taking advantage of their positions to commit customs fraud has worsened the problems that often affect businesses which have to interact with the Tax Administration. An online system which is down much of the time and additional delays at customs posts are part of the problems affecting commercial activity in the country.
The main products exported were articles of clothing, accounting for 11% of the total, followed by sugar, with 9%, bananas, with 6%, coffee with another 6%, and precious stones and metals, with 3%.
From a statement issued by the Guatemalan Exporters Association (-AGEXPORT-):
The Bank of Guatemala has confirmed growth in exports in 2014 of more than 8.1% more than that estimated by AGEXPORT in a report relased in the second week of December last year. This growth comes from overseas sales having recorded $10.833 billion in foreign exchange.
The Tax Authority of Guatemala has denied the existence of a consensus among Central American countries to implement a unified charge.
The Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) of Guatemala denied that there is a consensus among countries to implement a one-time charge for reviewing scanned merchandise flowing through the region, as announced by the Directorate General of Customs of El Salvador.
Guatemalan exporters are concerned about the high cost of energy making them less competitive in international markets.
Guatemalan exporters are to create an integrated electricity observation committee for private sector users in order to improve competitiveness with other countries. The executive director of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport), Fanny D.
In order to complete the accession process, the Industrial Property Law must be published in the Official Journal, as well as the registration of 114 European GIs.
In addition to ratifying the trade agreement with the European Union, Congress also passed the Industrial Property Law. Stella Zervoudaki, EU ambassador in Guatemala, congratulated the members for having reviewed and given approval to the agreement which "is of paramount importance to Guatemala".