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ALLFREDO AZCARATE VARELA
THE BAJA POST/STAFF
A massive law enforcement operation against Chinese irregular imports, involving several States, was carried out the last week of 2024, Mexican ederal authorities closed down several warehouses and outlets where irregular merchandise from China was being sold, mainly in Mexico City and the States of Sonora, Coahuila and Baja California.
As the Canadian Government had said during the T-MEC (the MEX-USA-CAN trade agreement) Chinese “pirate products” (forgery or smuggled) which had been introduced to Mexico illegally overpassing the legal Customs procedures, are among the mosr serious issues regarding Mexico’s participation in T-MEC.
Protecting the industry and Mexican workers is the goal of Operation Clean-Up in Baja California, a historic deployment involving the Federal Secretariat of Economy and the Government of Baja California, it achieved the largest results against Chinese contraband and piracy in Mexico.
Operation Clean-Up has been implemented in Mexico City, Sonora, Coahuila, and now Baja California, as part of a strategy promoted by the Mrs. Sheinbaum government, to prevent the trafficking of contraband and piracy produts sales, an illegal practice that had been “normalized” in those states.
China made forgeries and contraband (passing thru Customs without paying the mandatory fees) were being sold at “plein solei” in several warehouses and stores such as Plaza China in Ensenada and Family Max in Mexicali, clear evidence of corruption in Customs and other Mexican instances involved in this unlawful practices.
Baja California Governor, Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda, reiterated her full support for President Sheinbaum to combat contraband and illegal goods
Governor Marina del Pilar informed that inspections were carried out at two major establishments in Ensenada, covering an area of 18 thousand square meters, securing 3 million items with an estimated value of 320 million pesos, which are presumed to have been illegally imported.
Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, praised the efforts of the Government of Baja California in this operation: “This is one of the most important operations that has been carried out in Mexico, with more than three million pieces. Remember that when we started, there were about 300 thousand items; now we are at three million,»
“It is very interesting that as we go north, the number of goods and products increases. These are illicit goods that are violating all kinds of regulations, from civil protection to labeling, intellectual property, and industrial property norms, and we will not allow it,” sid Ebrard.
During inspections, multiple sanitary irregularities were found: lack of operating permits, food with no Spanish labeling or expiration dates (including expired and misleading products for weight loss without Health Department license or registration), cosmetics without labeling, identification or registration, and lack of Civil Protection documentation.
A total of 371 personnel from various agencies participated, deploying 190 units. This joint effort included the National Guard, Navy Secretariat, Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit, Secretariat General of Government of Baja California, Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare, State Civil Protection, SAT-BC, COFEPRIS, Coepris, Ensenada Public Security, Mobility BC, State Attorney General of Justice of Baja California, among others.
Operation Clean-Up aims to safeguard the textile, footwear, and toy industries, among others, and the jobs they generate for Mexican workers. In the past 18 months, the textile industry has lost more than 70,000 jobs due to contraband and piracy, according to the Secretariat of Economy.
Finally, Governor Marina del Pilar stated that all judicial alternatives will be evaluated to determine the corresponding legal actions against companies that have not complied with Mexican standards through the relevant agencies.
