Writing in Gadling.com, Jeremy Kressmann ("Ciudad del Este - South America's black market hotspot") reports on the sale of counterfeit goods in Ciudad del Este, which he describes as "Paraguay's smuggling capital". He explains:
"The city is conveniently located at the convergence of the borders of three countries (Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay), making it the ideal transit point for tax free and often illegal goods headed to all points beyond. ...Whatever the position of the state agencies, the fact remains that civil enforcement, policed by the IP owners whose rights are infringed by fake products, is particularly difficult to achieve when IP rights are abused in geographically remote areas and where each owner has to enforce its rights at its own expense.
As long as the Paraguayan and Brazilian authorities continue to turn a blind eye to the thriving smuggling practice, Paraguay's black markets will continue to thrive. For a country that doesn't see much tourism (or other industry for that matter) it seems to be as much an economic necessity as it is a fact of life".
