Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Info provided by the
American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru)

Recently the World Customs Organization (OMA in Spanish), made public an investigation done in the University of Le Havre, about the global impact of this legislation oriented to ensure the inspection of 100% of the containers that enter the U.S. by ship, the same that defines that transport operators, as well as world wide customs, should pay very high costs in order to implement the necessary technology and to count with trained personnel that will guarantee that these norms will be complied correctly.

With the objective of guaranteeing the regulation of this given law, the agents involved in global exterior commerce should adjust to the obligation of scanning all the containers that transport products before being shipped in their respective ports of origin before July 2012, date by which the regulation will effectively begin.

Without a doubt, this law modification will generate a variety of debates, because according to the experts, it is possible to find a practical solution that will comply with the objective of ensuring port safety without creating unnecessary havoc to the external world wide commerce. According to OMA numbers, more than 18 million containers entered the United States during the year 2006 and this number is expected to grow to 30 million during the year 2012, hence it is necessary to explore new alternative ways that won’t affect the flow of merchandise nor generate unnecessary extra costs to the commerce. Therefore, it is proposed for instance, that the custom authorities reinforce their own intelligence systems through a risk system and an interchangeable system of information within the customs of origin of the merchandise.

Therefore, dear reader, even when it is possible and recommendable to explore new alternative mechanisms that will cover a legitimate preoccupation from the U.S. or from any other given country for guaranteeing the safety of their citizens, having a smaller effect in their commercial routes, it is also evident that the economic agents have to start adjusting to the new controls and regulations, as security is becoming fundamental and commerce should not stop nor be interrupted by it.



*Translated by Joceline Frank

Frankly Speaking Inc.