The Chamber of Commerce of Guatemala (CCG) and the Association of Exporters of Guatemala (Agexport) expressed the importance of implementation of import bans on goods produced through forced labor u mandatory approved by the Government; However, from their respective points of view they indicated that the necessary conditions must be in place so that commercial activities are not affected.
Such provisions were issued through Ministerial Agreement 377-2026 and will come into force 30 business days after their publication in the official gazette. This was published last July 6.
Among other measures, it establishes that the Ministry of Labor (Mintrab) must generate a list of foreign companies linked to forced labor, using information obtained through diplomatic channels and other international sources. Likewise, you must publish the list on the institutional portals of both the Mintrab and the Ministry of Economy (Mineco). within 90 days after the agreement comes into force.
Trade: five conditions to meet
In this regard, the commercial sector explained that, to ensure that this provision does not become an unjustified barrier to legitimate trade, the Chamber considers it essential to meet the five conditions set out below:
- Absolute transparency: there must be immediate, free and permanently updated publication of the official list on institutional portals to give certainty to importers
- Clear customs procedure: to this end, the CCG stated that the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) must issue written guidelines that define the steps of notification, preventive safeguards and resolution, avoiding any margin of discretion in customs
- Guarantee of the right of defense: importers must have rapid mechanisms to present evidence and obtain expeditious resolutions that avoid extra storage costs or loss of merchandise.
- Technical inclusion criteria: the list must be based on investigations with firm findings in which due process has been respected, using official and verifiable sources
- Interinstitutional coordination: it is urgent that the pending operational agreements be signed between Mineco, Mintrab and the SAT to define the communication and prior consultation protocols
Asked about the effects that the new provisions could have on the commercial sector, the Chamber explained that the regulations contained in Ministerial Agreement 377-2026 It does not establish general prohibitions by type of product, country of origin or geographic region.
Regarding the real scope of the prohibitions, he indicated that the agreement is limited exclusively to prohibiting the import of goods from foreign companies included in an official list.
He explained that this list, which will be prepared by the Mintrab, must include only the name of the company and the country where it is located, and that “therefore, there is no basis to restrict imports of entire industrial sectors or specific geographic areas (such as regions or provinces), regardless of trends in other international markets.”
CONTENT FOR SUBSCRIBERS
Regarding the possible impact on international trade and suppliers, the CCG considers that The effect for the Guatemalan commercial sector will depend only on which companies are included in the aforementioned official list.
However, it makes the observation that the work of Guatemalan companies must focus on due diligence on their direct suppliers, once the Government publishes the corresponding list with technical criteria and firm evidence.
He also points out that when talking about effects on specific countries or certain products They are speculative at this time and did not mention possible amounts.
Exporters: serious verification and opportunity to discharge
The view of the export sector is that the issue of forced labor must be analyzed from three perspectives: as a country, as an economic sector and as a company, explained the general director of Agexport, Amador Carballido.
Then, when analyzing other aspects, he mentioned, for example, that the United States seeks to prevent our country from importing products from countries that produce with forced labor but that also It should be remembered that he investigated 60 economies, including Guatemala, so some other country also wants to know what the situation is in Guatemala.
So, he added, we must think about how to avoid bringing products from other countries where there are forced labor practicesbecause the circumstances can arise in any of these three cases: a country, a sector or a company.
However, it indicates that Guatemala has very low capacity to investigate countries and how many sectors and companies they represent around the world, or at least the remaining 59 economies investigated by the US.
“We do not have the capacity to do this research,” but other countries or entities do, and those are the ones that have to be chosen in the world to use the information they publish regarding who performs forced labor.
He indicated that it must be analyzed and chosen which entities or information is going to be used, for example, whether they will be from the United States, such as the Department of Commerce or the Office of the Trade Representative (USTR), or from the European Union, entities such as the United Nations or others that have sections or investigations on forced labor.
Carballido explains that part of the challenges are also logistical, because we are dealing with thousands of products from many countries. He mentioned that Guatemala exports around US$20 billion (in goods and services), It imports about US$31 billion and, in this import, there will probably be about 7 thousand items or products from about 100 countries.
Carballido mentioned as an example that may be of interest at least the remaining 59 economies that are being investigatedand that countries such as the United States, Canada or those of the European Union could be excluded, which are strict on these types of issues; However, it is still a number of thousands of items or products and companies.
The type of discussion that has arisen is that “investigating this is not feasible, at least with the resources that Guatemala has”, however when deciding to use data from other entities, They must rely on serious information and studies to reach conclusions about where it is happeninghe added.
The Agexport executive mentioned that, when the authorities have the lists prepared, as a sector They ask for the opportunity to give their opinion, since, if you join a company, but it manages to present its clarifications or evidence that it is certified not to have forced labor, There must be a way to argue and present defenses, and that the list is not static, but rather dynamic and updated quickly.
CONTENT FOR SUBSCRIBERS
Carballido explained that the list will be generated by Mintrab, but the promoter of international trade in Guatemala is Mineco, so it will manage the list. Considers that it is to this last ministry that as a sector they should go in the first instance; However, he added that The entity that will execute the provision will be the SAT customs office, which reviews the merchandise and its origin.
The issuance of these prohibitions contained in Ministerial Agreement 377-2026 of Mineco arises as one of the actions promoted by Guatemala, derived from the investigation of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) towards 60 economies in the world, of which it resolved that fail to have or apply measures to prevent imports of goods produced through forced labor in other countries.