BackgroundParaguay is a major supplier of illicit cigarettes for the Latin American region and beyond. In July 2022, Paraguay ratified the FCTC Protocol. This is an opportunity and a challenge for neighboring countries to implement coordinated actions. This is the first analysis of the foreign trade data for cigarettes and their inputs using Paraguayan data to contextualise the illicit trade problem in Latin America and globally.MethodsCombining publicly available Paraguayan databases, this research constructs a database to analyse imported cigarette inputs, particularly by identifying the companies and their national origins.ResultsA complex multinational supply chain perpetuates a flow of inputs into Paraguay that contributes to the production and export of illicit tobacco products. Brazil is a relevant legal supplier of intermediate goods for the Paraguayan tobacco industry yet is not a significant destination of the legal exports of cigarettes produced in Paraguay. Yet, Paraguayan cigarettes are widely available in the Brazilian market, almost all of them illicit. Trade data also show the role of other countries in the region as major cigarette input exporters to Paraguay. Evidence also supports that high volumes of legal exports from Paraguay to third countries (including Bolivia, Suriname, Aruba and Curacao) may be fuelling illicit trade through triangulation to other countries.ConclusionsThe oversupply—that is, more supply than necessary for domestic consumption and legal exports—of cigarette inputs likely divert illegally back to the countries exporting these inputs and others. Thus, the responsibility for illicit trade in cigarettes falls not only on Paraguayan companies but also on companies exporting inputs to Paraguay to producing these illicit goods. Furthermore, Paraguay is not only exporting illicitly directly to Brazil and Argentina, but also appears to oversupply other countries in South America and the Caribbean that cannot legally absorb this trade through domestic consumption and/or legal re-export.

No abstract

Este es un artículo publicado en acceso abierto bajo una licencia Creative Commons

No abstract

América Latina es reconocida como una de las regiones más desiguales del mundo. Esta característica que muestra el subcontinente hacen que sea sumamente necesario incorporar un énfasis territorial al diagnóstico y a las recomendaciones de políticas públicas que tengan como objeto promover el desarrollo humano y sostenible en la región. Más recientemente, a la luz de la Agenda 2030 y el desafío de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), esta importancia se ha visto reforzada situando al desarrollo territorial dentro de las estrategias y políticas privilegiadas para impulsar el desarrollo. Esta realidad es la que nos ha impulsado a proponer un Índice de Desarrollo Regional (IDERE) para América Latina, para dar cuenta con una medida comparable entre países de la situación del desarrollo en su dimensión territorial, identificar cuáles son los diferentes desafíos para cada región en cada país y poner de forma más precisa en la agenda pública y política a la expresión territorial de la gran heterogeneidad social y económica que presenta el continente.