Army and Navy put customs trade at risk: Comce
The decision of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that the Army and the Navy take administrative control of the customs and ports of Mexico puts Mexico’s foreign trade at risk, affirmed the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (Comce ).
«With this decision, the Federal Government assumes a risky position, because a bad intervention by the Army and the Navy in the administration of customs and ports will significantly increase mistrust of our country as an investment destination, inevitably causing the loss of competitiveness of Mexican companies, the closing of businesses, and the consequent loss of jobs, ”said Comce in a press release.
Over the weekend, López Obrador ordered the Secretaries of National Defense, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, and the Navy, Rafael Ojeda, to assign personnel to assume administrative, managerial and security control, in order to curb corruption, trafficking of drugs, weapons and money in the 49 customs and 116 ports that operate in Mexico.
As in other cases, López Obrador considered that honesty is more important than ability or knowledge. «Nor is it so complicated to know the importance of foreign trade and how to collect taxes,» he argued.
There are still several legal issues to be resolved to comply with the instructions of the President of Mexico.
Customs
«The decision announced by the Federal Government undoubtedly generates uneasiness, because it could hinder the flow of foreign trade operations,» said Comce.
The Comce said that it is in favor of eradicating corruption, smuggling, arms and drug trafficking in customs and ports, and that workers and officials colluded in bad practices are dismissed and punished in accordance with the corresponding legal guidelines.
«However, the serious structural crisis that Mexico is experiencing as a consequence of the COVID 19 pandemic, demands the activation of actions aimed at containing the contraction of the national economy, and promoting a gradual and sustained recovery in the short term,» he said.
