As a result of the operations carried out by the Superintendence of Tax Administration to stop smuggling, in recent days there have been two attacks on the customs area of Tecún Umán I, on the border between Guatemala and Mexico.
According to information provided by the Guatemalan authorities, on November 13 and 17, groups of alleged smugglers attacked the customs of Tecún Umán I in San Marcos, because in the operations deployed by the tax authority, merchandise was seized that was not declared upon entry into the country.
In Guatemala, food and beverage businessmen estimate that product smuggling during the end of 2018 will increase more than reported in previous years.
Complaints by Guatemalan businessmen regarding the illicit marketing of different types of products have been a constant in recent years. Long-standing calculations detail that of every ten products sold in the country, three are of illegal origin.
In the view of businessmen in Guatemala, the country has become a connection center for merchandise that is transported illegally from the Colon Free Zone, in Panama, to the Corozal Free Zone, in Belize.
Within the to and fro of contraband products moving from the south of Central America on the route to Mexico, a significant amount stays in Guatemala, where criminal structures are responsible for "marketing" these products throughout the territory.
Guatemalan businessmen are demanding stricter laws to combat the illegal entry of goods from Mexico, which are now being sold in El Salvador and Honduras.
Food and beverage companies say that in the municipality of Acajutla, El Salvador, it is possible to buy oil, flour and crackers that were illegally smuggled in from Mexico, first passing through Guatemalan territory, and eventually being sold on Salvadoran soil.
It is estimated that in 2015 illicit trade and customs fraud added up to $2.2 billion, equivalent to 3.5% of GDP.
Cereals, animals, meat and meat products, bakery products, sugar, macaroni and noodles, dairy, alcoholic beverages and textiles topped the list of products most affected by illegal trade, according to a study by ASIES.
The devaluation of the Mexican peso could be one of the reasons behind the increase in the illegal entry of footwear from that country into Guatemala.
The effect of shoe smuggling across the border with Mexico is added to footwear imports from Asia, which despite paying the corresponding duties and taxes are,"...
Agricultural production in Mexico is favored by the devaluation of the peso, which has encouraged smuggling to Guatemala of pork products, coffee, poultry and eggs.
The union of entrepreneurs in the agricultural and livestock sector is claiming that it is now not only pork which is being traded illegally on the border, but other products such as coffee, eggs and poultry.
It has been indicated that deductions and taxes incurred by coffee farmers is the reason for smuggling of the grain to neighboring countries.
According to an article on Laprensa.hn Emilio Medina, manager of the export company Beneficio de Café Montecristo, "... taxes and deductions applied to each hundredweight of coffee exported combined with low grain prices in the international market have led to increased smuggling of the aromatic to Guatemala and Nicaragua ... This traffic of coffee to neighboring countries has affected the volume of shipments and foreign exchange. "
"If the calculations made for Guatemala in 2013 and 2014 are taken as a reference for other Central American countries, the volume of illegal trade in the region, could be between 3.4% and 4% of GDP".
"If the calculations made for Guatemala in 2013 and 2014 are taken as a reference for other Central American countries, the volume of illegal trade in the region, could be between 3.4% and 4% of GDP".
Local producers denounce the practice of triangulation, smuggling, under-invoicing and reporting new footwear coming from China as used.
In 2012 footwear exports generated $35 million, though at the end of 2014 this figure recorded a reduction of $4.2 million. The opposite has occured with imports, which between 2012 and 2013 amounted to $143 million and in 2014 increased by $7 million, according to figures from the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat).
As part of the controls to combat smuggling, between May and July 29 companies were suspended from the list of importers, which represents 60% of the total volume of pairs of shoes entering the country.
In order to detect and prevent irregularities in the import of footwear, the General Administration of Federal Tax Audit Tax Administration Service of Mexico carried out 31 audits "...
Businessmen are warning that this season illegal movements have increased by more than a million bags.
The manager of the Coffee Exporters Association of Honduras (Adecafeh), Miguel Pon, requested the intervention of the Border Police and the Executive Directorate of Revenue (DEI) to curb illicit exports. "It could represent an impact of $100 million in foreign exchange earnings from exports ...".
Traders require the intervention of the governments of both countries to curb the smuggling of weapons, drugs, migrants and goods.
According to Juan Arnoldo Diaz, president of the Association of Mexican Organized Traders, monthly smuggling between the two countries is worth $800 million.
According to the business leader, on the border there are eight legal crossings but there are also another 53 crossings where illegal contraband circulates freely.
Central American Business Chambers call for stopping unfair trade in both directions between the two countries.
"We must, as soon as possible, stop the illegal movement of goods from Guatemala to the southern border of Chiapas, in order to be able to aspire to making progress on all our objectives in this new era of trade between Mexico and Central America," said Jose Mejia, president of the Central American Binational Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Investment.
As of July 9 full legislation comes into full effect which seeks to prevent the entry of weapons or contraband into the United States.
From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
On November 25, 2008, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published the regulations for Importer Security Filing (ISF 10 +2) which requires importers and carriers to submit additional cargo information to the CBP before the goods are shipped to the U.S.