Several regulatory and policy developments have occurred in the Latin American region over the past few months that may impact the customs and global trade activities of many multinational companies. These include:

• Amendments to foreign exchange (“FX”) regulations related to the payment of imported goods and services into Argentina;
• Use of transfer pricing studies as supporting documentation for customs valuation of imported goods in Brazil;
• Elimination of certain benefits for Free Trade Zone operators in Colombia;
• Ongoing enforcement activities of North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) and US-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (“USMCA”) rules of origin by Mexican customs authorities; and
• Recent modifications to the legal framework governing intercompany payments made for goods imported into Peru.

How we can help

Deloitte’s Global Trade Advisory specialists are part of a global network of professionals who can provide specialized assistance to companies in global trade matters. Our professionals can help companies seeking to manage the impacts and potential impacts of the developments described above, as follows:

• Our professionals in Argentina can assist companies with navigating the complex, new FX requirements by providing regulatory updates and recommendations on different business strategies to manage the impact of the new restrictions and assess how to finance the purchase of imported goods and services;
• Our professionals in Brazil can help companies that have intercompany transactions in Brazil consider the use of transfer pricing studies as useful tools to support the customs valuation of imported intercompany goods, as well as with preparing a defense file before the customs authorities in the event of a customs valuation audit;
• Our professionals in Colombia can assist companies operating in Free Trade Zones with assessing their current operations to determine if they will align with the government’s new requirements or if any strategic changes may need to be considered;
• Our professionals in Mexico and in our global network can help foreign exporters consider revisiting previous FTA certifications made for goods exported to Mexico to confirm that they have an origin verification audit defense file to support the originating status of their exports in case they are subject to an origin verification by the Mexican customs authorities; and
• Our professionals in Peru can assist Peruvian importers with confirming whether the government authorities have already been informed of any third party that will receive payment for the purchase of imported goods in those cases when the seller or supplier of the goods is not receiving the payment of the purchase price, for example, where a group netting system is used.