Economist Conference Explores Illicit Trade

Economist Impact will host the eighth Global Anti-Illicit Trade Summit, supported by Japan Tobacco International, on Nov. 30 the Westin Ottawa.

When it comes to cross-border movement of illegal goods, North America’s expansiveness exacerbates the problem. The United States shares the world’s longest (8,890 km) land border with Canada and the busiest land-border crossing with Mexico. This makes preventing smuggling and illegal migration especially challenging for border security and customs agencies. With just over 12,000 km in land borders and approximately 230,000 km of coastline, North America offers plenty of opportunities for criminal networks to traffic people and illegal goods and improve their position in the illicit market.

The International Chamber of Commerce estimates the financial cost of illicit trade to be $4.2 trillion annually.

Speakers at the Economist Impact forum include General John Kelly, former commander, United States Southern Command; David Luna, executive director, International Coalition Against Illicit Economies; Christopher Taylor, Canada country attaché, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives; Laura Dawson, executive director, Future Borders Coalition; Anne Kothawala, chief executive, Convenience Industry Council of Canada; Marissa Molé Bostick, deputy director, Counterfeit Crimes Unit, Amazon; Sergio Miranda, sergent spécialiste en économie souterraine, Sûreté du Québec; Gaston Schulmeister, director of the Department against Transnational Organized Crime (DTOC), Organization of American States; José Antonio Abugaber Andonie, President, Concamin; and Abram Benedict, Grand Chief, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne

For further details about the summit, please visit anti-illicit-trade.economist.com.