Smuggling and the CFC Black
Market
Regardless of the good
intentions with which the legislations to phase out CFCs were put in place
with, there will inevitably be people who think, “Why me? Why should I have to
cooperate? How is what I’m doing really that significant?” The continued legal
production of CFCs and other ozone depleting
chemicals in developing nations means that these chemicals can be made
readily available worldwide through illegal smuggling.
The Lowdown on Smuggling
![[Cartoon by Dennis Smith]](./smuggle_files/image004.gif)
The
Montreal
Protocol only made illegal the production of CFCs (by 2002, in
developed nations). Both the use of these CFCs and their import into developed
nations are allowed, but restricted. The CFCs that are imported from nations
that can still produce them are for use in defined situations. However, the
import of these CFCs is heavily taxed. Alternates to ODCs are still expensive.
Naturally, a black market developed for these chemicals worldwide.
Source: www.greenpeace.org/~climate/ greenfreeze/
What is being smuggled?
Large networks of small
companies have been set up throughout Europe and the United States primarily as
settings for the smuggling of CFCs into developed nations that can no longer
make the ODCs themselves. The smuggling is often covered by illegally
mislabeling the CFCs as some other chemical so as to avoid the high taxes.
Often, the product that ends up smuggled in is of low quality. It is estimated that between 10,000 and
20,000 tons of CFC are smuggled into the United Stated each year, with 30,000
tons smuggled worldwide.
Why is it being smuggled? (Show me
the money…)
The taxes set in place on
imported CFCs in the United States are presently at $5.80 per pound. This, of
course, only applies if the Environmental Protection Agency provides approval
of the import. This is an expensive “hassle” for many companies that either
cannot meet their needs with ODC alternatives or find them too expensive. They
therefore have motivation to buy off the black market rather than deal with the
government. CDCs are still quite inexpensive in the developing nations where
they are produced. This gives smugglers an opportunity raise the price, making
up to ten-fold in profit after reselling them to companies.
Where is it coming from?
Primary suppliers of CFCs
are the Russian Federation, which is not in compliance with the Montreal
Protocol, China and India, which are still developing nations that can produce
CFCs legally for several more years, and Japan. CFCs can easily be smuggled
from those countries into Europe, which still has lax legislation on imports
and smuggling. In the United States, much of the smuggled CFCs came from
Europe, after being smuggled from one of the other nations.
Source: www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/ ozone/ozanthro3.html
What is being done about it?
In Europe, not enough. The
low priority that is placed on enforcement of import restrictions and loopholes
in legislation make Europe an easy channel for transporting the CFCs to other
parts of the world. Restrictions in the United States are somewhat more defined
but still not as effective as they should be. The law allows for punishment of
smugglers in the form of fines (up to $25,000 per kg) and jail time (5 years,
or 10 for a repeat offender). So far, 25 people have been convicted of
smuggling CFCs, 20 of whom received punishments ranging from fines to 5 years
of jail. Only about two to three thousand tons of CFCs have been impounded, and
it is estimated that there is $100-150 million in unpaid taxes and penalties on
CFC imports.
What should be done?
Stronger legislation needs
to be enacted to restrict the import and export of CFCs in all countries. Loopholes
need to be closed up as much as possible. A higher priority should be placed on
investigating smuggling, and customs officials should be better trained to look
for this contraband. The usage of CFCs in developed nations should also be more
restricted so that the smuggled goods are less desirable. Efforts should be
made to make CFCs less cheap in the developing nations, reducing the profit and
therefore the desirability of the smuggling business. All of this legislation
will be useless if it is not strongly enforced.
Smuggling is a vital issue
to the ozone layer disaster: Unless we all “play by the rules,” efforts to
improve the plant’s state of affairs will be useless. All of the efforts put
forward by the nations of the world to restrict the production of these
chemicals is pointless if companies and people continue to use them anyway.
Sources
Environmental Investigation Agency. “Chilling Facts
About a Burning Issue.”
http://www.eia-international.org/Campaigns/Ozone/Reports/ChillingFacts/index.html
[25 April 2002].
Fleming, J.R. and
B.R. Knorr. History of the Clean Air Act, “Legislation: A Look at U.S.
Air Pollution Laws and Their Amendments.”
http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS/sloan/cleanair/index.html [25 April 2002].
Stirpe, D. (Oct.
1997) Our Planet, “Smugglers Beware!”
http://www.ourplanet.com/imgversn/92/stirpe.html [25 April 2002].
