During the recent visit of the Ecuadorian president to Guatemala, the intention to take up again the issue of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, whose negotiation was stalled years ago, was expressed.
As a result of the inauguration of the new Guatemalan government, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno visited the Central American country and took advantage of the occasion to meet with Guatemalan businessmen.
The Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce opposes the special tax scheme for agricultural activity approved by Congress, arguing that it is unconstitutional and violates the principles of tax equity.
The new fiscal regime for agriculture, approved last September 24 by the deputies of the Congress of the Republic, has been surrounded by controversy, as from the beginning the chambers of industry and commerce expressed their opposition.
In the customs offices of Tecun Uman working hours have been extended both on the Guatemalan and Mexican side in order to allow passage of trucks which until now had been left stranded.
The Superintendent of Tax Administration is also operating an extraordinary timetable, a measure which could be extended for a few days, depending on what is decided at the end of the weekend.
Operations in Santo Tomas de Castilla are back to normal, after truck drivers and customs agents agreed with the Government to improve conditions at the terminal.
Businessmen have complained to the Executive office about the slowness and inefficiency of customs inspections of the country, where containers are retained for up to 15 days.
The truckers blockade which paralyzed customs offices in Jutiapa for a week, has made entrepreneurs question the efficiency of border posts in the country because of the time invested in land transport.
The business sector is opposed the bill with which aims to increase the tax applicable to dividends, earnings and profits from 5% to 6%.
There's a proposal in Congress to increase the income tax (ISR) paid on dividends, profits and earnings by 1%. The intention is to allocate those funds to the creation of a Ministry for Youth.
"... The tax changes should be subject to prior consultation with the Ministry of Finance and analysis carried out to determine the impact on the business sector. When it was raised to 5% there was an explanation. It does not seem fair to us that reforms be made casuistically without consultation and with a specific assignment made," said Julio Héctor Estrada, Minister of Finance to Elperiodico.com.gt regarding the tax change which would mean revenues to the treasury of up to $10 million, according the legislators who proposed it.
The Peruvian exporters union has estimated at $985 million the untapped trade potential between the two countries , mainly in the chemical, agricultural and agro-industrial subsectors.
Most of the unexploited trade opportunities identified by the Exporters Association of Peru are to be found in the chemical subsector, which include "...
Up until March 18 a delegation of 51 Taiwanese companies will be in the country exploring business sectors of spare parts for cars and motorcycles, hardware and construction.
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce of Guatemala (CCG):
Mr. Jorge Briz-President of the Chamber of Commerce of Guatemala and the Ambassador of China (Taiwan) Mr Adolfo Sun, announced the arrival of the Taiwan Trade Mission to Guatemala.
In Guatemala the large number of amendments to the bill and the rejection by most of the productive sector suggests that it needs to be disposed of and a new one proposed.
The debate that has been generated around the initiative for investment and employment in Guatemala is added to the strong criticism from the private sector, hampering the adoption of the bill in Congress.
The competitiveness of the economies of the isthmus is being impaired by the inefficiency of the bureaucracy in the management of customs offices in the region.
The bureaucracy at customs offices has become a serious problem for the Central American region. Among other things it generates increases in the costs of exporting because of the procedures that must be paid for, loss of perishable goods and delays in production in processes that have to wait for raw materials.
The presidents of various Guatemalan unions have asked the Monetary Board not to authorize the issuance sought by the state.
According to representatives of the Chambers of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce associated with the Committee of Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (Cacif), this action "will affect the macroeconomy and increase the fiscal deficit."
Businessmen from Korea, India and the U.S. visited Guatemala in search of investment opportunities in sectors such as medical equipment, clothing and cosmetics.
The Koreans will meet today with local entrepreneurs in order to promote products such as medical equipment, LED lighting, cosmetics and technology, in order to generate more business opportunities.
98% of the members of the Chamber of Commerce in Guatemala say that the tax reform negatively affects investment.
The Chamber of Commerce of Guatemala (CCG), has conducted a survey among 1015 entrepreneurs in order to find out their opinion on the tax reform launched by the government in 2012.
94% of respondents revealed that they felt "harassed and persecuted" by the complexity of the new tax provisions.
The Chambers of Commerce and Agriculture submitted to the 4th Constitutional Court challenges against fifteen articles of the Tax Update Law.
These challenges are in addition to those presented last week by the Association of Coffee Exporters, and which will be submitted today, January 25, by the Guatemalan Chamber of Construction, the National Association of Home Builders and Contractors' Guild.