From: StopIllegal.com | Philip Morris International
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STOP: ILLEGAL: Why are FTZs a concern in the fight against the illicit trade?
JUAN CICHERO: The same features of FTZs that are designed to facilitate legitimate business opportunities – like openness and speed – are being exploited and misused by organized crime groups to produce, distribute, and sell counterfeit goods. In Latin America some major Free Trade Zones are located, for example, in Belize, Chile, Colombia and Panama. There, we see cigarettes imported without the payment of any customs duty. They can be purchased by traders and distributors without the payment of tax and then can be smuggled across borders where they are sold as illicit products.
