Rarely has it been possible to see so clearly how a sporting achievement vindicates the importance of customs control.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar left us with a new star on the shirt of the Albiceleste team and with it a greater than usual demand for shirts of the world champion Argentina, excuse the redundancy, all over the world.
I remember that in the framework of the “WCO Subregional Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Health and Safety[1] for Mercosur and Neighbouring Countries"which took place in Puerto Iguazú, from May 31 to June 2, 2023, which I had the pleasure of attending as a student, the representative of the Adidas Group indicated that the sale of world champion shirts (whoever it may be), according to his experience, implies, statistically, an increase in demand for that merchandise of approximately 300% for at least the next two years, if the highest sporting achievement has been obtained.
On that occasion, the representative of the famous company expressed his concern about the potential entry and exit of "non-original" Argentine shirts to the different customs territories, highlighting the importance of the role of the General Directorate of Customs in the fight against "trademark fraud."
At that moment I realized that - a priori - customs control can be seen as unpleasant for the individual or the private sector. In fact, when talking about customs control, it is associated with long queues in front of a scanner on arrival at an airport, after a long and tiring trip.
However, this is not really the case. Customs control is much more than that, and if we do a more in-depth analysis of what it represents, we will notice that it actually also benefits importers and exporters, as it is closely related to the right to exercise lawful industry (Article 14 of the National Constitution). Moreover, customs control contributes its grain of sand to the protection of many legal assets protected by the National Constitution (hereinafter CN), extra-customs (in principle), thus directly affecting the lives of the inhabitants of the Argentine Republic.
Indeed, by exercising lawful industry (art. 14 of the CN) clandestine workshops are suppressed and, with this, work is protected in its various forms (art. 14bis of the CN).
On the other hand, pirated products, in general, lack the quality of the original product and can affect many of the rights of consumers (art. 42 of the CN).
Please note that a pirated product introduced into the customs territory (and therefore into the market) may affect the health, safety, economic interests and even the right of consumers to adequate and accurate information.
Indeed, a pirated product that is ingested may well affect the safety of consumers and thus their safety in consumer relations. For its part, said (pirated) product, which is not known to be such… has the authority to affect the information provided to the consumer (he may not have known that the product was not original when buying it, due to lack of information) and the consumer may even have paid a high sum of money for said (non-original) product thinking that he was acquiring an original product, thus affecting the economic interests of the consumers referred to in the aforementioned art. 42 of the CN.
We jurists repeat that the crime of smuggling is perfected when the proper exercise of customs control is made difficult[3], and sometimes this without really reflecting on what is behind the aforementioned customs control and how this control results in a benefit for society, safeguarding rights linked to other legal matters (trademark law, intellectual property rights, commercial law and, fundamentally, the rights of users and consumers).
In light of the above, it is important to highlight that the interests of the private sector in this matter coincide with the interests of the State and that, although customs control must be exercised exclusively by Customs, the private sector may well collaborate with the Agency by reporting and denouncing all irregular situations that come to its attention.
This demonstrates the importance of dialogue between the public and private sectors, which do not necessarily have conflicting interests.
Delving into these types of simple ideas challenges us to explore new paths of dialogue and joint action for the benefit of all Argentine society.
Intentional trade must abandon the path of conflict and seek consensus.
[1] World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1952 under the name of Customs Cooperation Council, whose headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium. Today it has 178 member countries represented by customs administrations around the world.
Lawyer (UBA), Customs Law Specialist (ECAE PTN), Customs Management Specialist (UNLaM), and Researcher (ECAE PTN). Professor of undergraduate and graduate customs law, member of the AAEF, IAEA, and the Customs Law Institute (CPACF). The opinions expressed in this publication are the author's own, technical, and should not be considered the opinions of any institution to which the professional is affiliated.
