Importing into South America

Latin America is the most urbanized region in the world, with about 80% of its population living in cities. Despite being made up of only a few countries, South America is among the most linguistically diverse areas globally, with about 450 recorded languages. This can make navigating trade in the region difficult particularly for English speakers as English is a rare language in this region.

With broadband penetration in Latin America around 70%, the market is large and developed to fuel an appetite for growth in the tech space. Asia and the US are South America’s largest trading partners, displaying a significant desire for a vast range of products although these are rarely Tech related. Import into South America is notoriously complex due to the region’s time consuming and often costly restrictions and processes. These trends in restriction and process are often connected to the impact of crime, corruption, and infrastructure shortcomings, which weigh heavily on ease of trade in the region.

Latin America also has some of the world’s highest tax ranges and presents complex compliance procedures and requirements globally. This often requires specified knowledge and expertise to navigate.

Despite high levels of urbanization and fast-growing economies, Latin America faces massive wealth disparity. This gap in affluence leaves the region exposed to high crime rates, which facilitate the strong demand for comprehensive liability cover when importing into and exporting from the region.

Do you have a specific South American destination in mind? Learn more about the complexities of importing into South American countries like Brazil.