General Secretariat issues statement on case involving importation of products unfit for human consumption
The facts of the case stem from an inspection carried out during a customs operation, in which the competent authority detected that the goods being transported did not comply with the health regulations in force in Ecuador, rendering them unfit for human consumption. Given this background, the Ecuadorian Public Prosecutor’s Office was notified so that, as the body responsible for criminal proceedings, it could carry out the corresponding investigations and decide on the fate of the sensitive goods.
In response, the foreign trade operator (OCE) initiated several legal actions aimed at releasing the goods, including administrative, criminal, and constitutional actions. In addition, it sued the Ecuadorian State before the Andean Community, arguing that the Ecuadorian authorities had acted outside their legal framework by interrupting the customs operation and unduly retaining the goods. In response to the FTO’s allegations, our defense argued that the measures taken by the Ecuadorian authorities were fully justified, given that the characteristics of the goods classify them as sensitive and high-risk products.
