The entities representing the foreign trade value chain published today (05.10.2023) an open letter to the next president of the Argentine Nation.
In the text they highlighted "the need to prioritize, in the future government agenda, la competitiveness, la reliability and stability of rules, essential for our country's foreign trade."
«Foreign trade is and will be a source of employment and development, generating foreign currency with which we can incorporate technology and have the goods and services necessary for our production processes, as well as those that contribute to the health and well-being of Argentines. It is a source of creation and growth of companies throughout the country, of innovation and development for regional economies and of quality employment opportunities," they explained in the text.
The document was signed by the Argentine Association of International Freight Agents (AAACI), Association of Importers and Exporters of the Argentine Republic (AIERA), Association of Argentine International Cargo Transporters (ATACI), Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC), Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Production of the Argentine Republic (CACIPRA), Argentine Confederation of Medium-sized Enterprises (CAME), Center of Customs Transport Agents of the Argentine Republic (CATARA), Customs Brokers Center of the Argentine Republic (CDA), Chamber of Exporters of the Argentine Republic (CERA), General Business Confederation of the Argentine Republic (CGRA), Chamber of Importers of the Argentine Republic (CIRA), Navigation Center (CN), Argentine Federation of Business Entities of Cargo Transportation (FADEEAC), Federation of Foreign Trade Chambers of the Argentine Republic (FECACERA), First Association of Motor Cargo Transportation Entrepreneurs (PAETAC) and Industrial Union of the Province of Buenos Aires (UIPBA).
«It is imperative to achieve a Reliable Argentina "which, through its neutrality, invites its integration into international value chains within an appropriate, constructive and predictable framework, particularly for our suppliers and clients abroad," the entities stressed in the open letter.
Today - the document added - "our sector is in a critical situation: : the distortion of basic operating rules, such as the multiplicity of exchange rates and trade restrictions (SIRA, SIRASE, CEF), potentially inconsistent with international agreements and even with our own legislation, as well as the mandatory liquidation of export currencies, are generating a very significant decrease in Argentine exports and in the companies that decide to undertake the path of exporting. Argentina in 2023 may represent just 0.25% of world exports, a historic low.
The open letter questioned the multiplicity of irregular barriers which "is severely conditioning the development of production and supply processes. This leads to the consequent impact on consumption levels, prices and particularly, affecting the fulfillment of commitments with foreign suppliers. The level of private commercial debt with foreign suppliers exceeded all records, reaching a projection for December of approximately USD 40.000 billion, of which half are deferred payments through trade and services management tools (specifically SIRA and SIRASE)."
"The lack of progress in the bidding processes of both Waterway as the Port of Buenos Aires "They have done nothing but put foreign trade in a permanent state of unjustifiable waiting without meeting long-term goals, today aggravated by the restrictions imposed, which have led international shipping companies to the decision to no longer charge maritime freight in the country. This implies the deterioration of years-long commercial ties with suppliers and buyers abroad, and also causes operational inefficiencies in the provision of comprehensive logistics services, aggravated by economic losses of multimodal transport companies and freight agents," he claimed.
The document considered that "the lack of logistics planning" that not only lowers costs but also has a substantial reduction in "environmental impact" is a fundamental outstanding debt in the context of growing restrictions in destination markets, which already make this issue evident.
According to his reading, "the National Trade Facilitation Committee – one of the pillars for improving foreign trade, so widely disseminated and with excellent results in other countries around the world through simplification and digitalisation – was never formalised and must be part of the agenda.
«The accumulated amount of bureaucratic processes and the multiplicity of regulations that do not respect their hierarchy among themselves, generate confusion even in the most prominent lawyers, producing important discretionary actions and involuntary errors due to the impossibility of dealing with the current regulatory framework. The discussion of regulations among businessmen reaches the most unusual levels, exchanging previous good practices as tools to take the right path. Regulations cannot be subject to the previous experience of a user. They must be clear, understandable and ordered in their hierarchy,» said the entities in their open letter.
As a way out of this situation, they proposed solutions that should be applied:
⦁ We need greater institutionality: The rules must be clear. Foreign trade processes must be predictable. We cannot continue to face the costs and time of uncertainty in exchange matters; of the lack of public-private dialogue on issues inherent to our areas of work; of unwritten rules and the generation of new regulations and restrictions at ever-increasing speed.
⦁ We need greater links with international markets. According to the World Bank, the average of exports as a percentage of GDP in Latin America and the Caribbean was 28,2% for 2022, compared to an average of Argentine exports as a percentage of GDP of 16,8%. For imports and services, the indicator shows the same trend: the average of imports in Latin America and the Caribbean was 29,9%, compared to an average of Argentine imports of 15,3% of GDP, for the same year. And for this, we need to honour our commitments.
⦁ We must substantially improve trade relations with the world, with our own Mercosur bloc and with other blocs and countries. And to achieve this, transparency in negotiations must include the systemic participation of the private sector.
⦁ We call on all candidates to occupy the most important role of all Argentines, to systematically dialogue with the sectors that make up this value chain., entrepreneurs who want to bring Argentina closer to the world.
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