Argentina hosted the 1st Regional Meeting on Security and Illicit Trade, organized by the newspaper El Cronista and the magazine Apertura. It served as an example of the effort to increase commercial legality and combat fraud, which accounts for nearly 2% of the region's gross domestic product (GDP).
At the meeting, national and international experts raised the need to combat vulnerabilities of illicit trade in free trade zones and raise awareness about them.
Lisandro Ganuza, president of the Bahía Blanca-Coronel Rosales Free Zone and director of World Free Zone, who moderated the respective panel, said: “From Argentina dWe must understand that free trade zones serve the purpose of generating investments, jobs and developing regions. It is important that the OECD recognizes free trade zones as an economic driver. This is encouraging, but it creates the obligation to meet international demands in the fight against illicit trade. I am convinced that free trade zones are destined to be one of the pillars of Argentine foreign trade. In this process of Argentina's reintegration into global trade, it is important to take into account what has already been done in the fight against illicit trade.".
In this context, Daniel Rojas, Vice President of the Colon Free Zone (Panama), the second largest free zone in the world, stated: “We have tried to change the way of doing business from the Colon Free Zone (ZLC). The ZLC user has empowered himself, he has taken the lead in this field. From being an entity vulnerable to illicit trade, it became an entity that monitors and predicts what trade is. This has been well perceived by the business community and we have established new alliances. In addition, the Non-Financial Activities Regulatory Entity has been established in our country, attached to the OECD. We have an alliance with Craig Topper, where we can make private complaints. We have tried to extend ourselves to the entire region. These changes go hand in hand with a ten-year roadmap. Although we do not have a single coca leaf in the country, we handle 7 million containers annually. The United Nations has classified us as the country that has seized the most drugs in a year. Likewise, we have seized illicit merchandise worth 43 million last year and cigarettes worth three million dollars.”.
"The Government of Panama does not demand that the ZLC generate monstrous profits but rather an economy that generates jobs which is the benefit that a free zone provides to a country. For this reason, Panama has 11 free zones in the territory," Rojas explained to the room full of experts.
He also added: "THEThe ZLC established a public-private partnership, in line with the dictates of the powers of the United Nations. Currently, we are eliminating discretion with Customs, we promote paperless procedures, we implement non-intrusive technology with the necessary programs to detect what is in the containers, follow up, arrest the guilty parties and demand that justice be done."
He highlighted: “The only way for a country to evolve and avoid illicit activities is through cooperationAn example of this is the exchange that is taking place. We must share ideas and knowledge of what is being done between countries. The lists of the United Nations, like those of the OECD, are working very well. In ZLC they are being followed to the letter. We have 800 people trained in the law against money laundering and the transit of weapons of mass destruction. This is how we are fighting crime from the Colon Free Zone. This is done at the will of the business community.".
The interesting Regional Meeting on Security and Illicit Trade took place on Friday, June 14, 2019 at the La Rural headquarters.
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