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.
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.
Of the total exports by the region, 29% goes to the countries that comprise it, reaching $6.403 billion at the end of 2008.
This figure is slightly above the average of 27.7% observed over the past five years.
The major exporters within the region are Guatemala, which has concentrated at least 33% of the average for the past four years, followed by El Salvador with 24%, Costa Rica with 23% and Honduras and Nicaragua added 20%.