Under the slogan “More legality, zero smuggling”, the Latin American Anti-Smuggling Alliance (ALAC) announced that it will hold its 9th meeting in the city of Santa Cruz. The event will take place on July 2 and 3, in the Sioronó Room, at the Fexpocruz Convention Center. Representatives of business and government associations from 14 countries are expected to participate.
The Confederation of Private Entrepreneurs of Bolivia (CEPB) and the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (ANDI) are responsible for the planning and organization of the different activities of the event, which seeks to take action against illicit trade and smuggling, which ranges from informal trade to transnational criminal organizations.
In January, a preparatory seminar called “Generating Alliances Against Illicit Trade” was held in Santiago, Chile, where representatives of the chambers of industry and commerce of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru asked their governments to take effective actions against the scourge of smugglingwhich undermines local industries and, consequently, formal employment and the development of countries.
On that occasion, the National Director of Customs of Chile, Alejandra Arriaza, mentioned that, according to data from the World Customs Organization, 80% of the world’s contraband moves in Latin America and in his country, customs determine about 32% of tax revenues.
For his part, the president of the National Chamber of Industries of Bolivia, Pablo Camacho, regretted that Smuggling in Bolivia takes 8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), While Cainco representatives demonstrated that smuggling affects the Bolivian economy with $us 1.4 billion in approximately 17 product categories.
The ALAC is made up of representatives from 14 Latin American countries. It was created in 2016 with the objective of building, with the governments of the region, a joint agenda to reduce smuggling.
“For this purpose, the ALAC is constituted as the catalyst that facilitates the exchange of information and generate strategic alliances, that transcend the borders of the countries and the articulation of the public and private sectors,” reported the organizers of the meeting.
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