Costa Rica is hosting the 5th Meeting of the Latin American Alliance Against Trafficking (V Encuentro de la Alianza Latinoamericana Anticontrabando) which seeks to strengthen commercial legality and combat fraud that moves about two percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the region.
The Alianza Latinoamericana Anticontrabando (Latin American Alliance against Smuggling), made up of companies, chambers of commerce and governments in the region, said that the objective of the event that began on Tuesday and continues today, is to share good practices, disseminate effective strategies and strengthen public-private coordination in anti-contraband efforts.
Data from the Alliance states that smuggling accounts for around two percent of Latin America’s GDP, approximately US$150,000 million a year, and affects industries including steel, tobacco, liquor, medicines and cosmetics, metal-mechanics and steel, plastics and footwear, textiles and clothing, and cybersecurity.
The event was jointly organized by the Costa Rica Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Business of Colombia.
