In a press conference to which Aduana News had access, Senator Marino explained that the bill presented has a very relevant institutional background. The Customs Code delegates to the National Executive Power the power to impose export withholdings within a framework of maximum discretion. The senator from La Pampa continued, the Congress at the time of the 2002 crisis, had delegated such power to the Ministry of Economy only for hydrocarbons, but a few days later, the National Executive Power, unilaterally, extended the withholdings to Argentine agricultural products. With the signature of a Minister, national products are taxed with very high amounts that reach more than 10% of total tax collection. This is not constitutional.
Congress must recover a power that it should never have given up, said the senator. The senators, as representatives of the Argentine provinces, express their opposition to such actions by the National Executive. International conditions and the price of agricultural inputs have changed since 2002 and this explains the low income that the Argentine countryside has, especially in the cultivation of wheat and corn.
Marino added that Argentina is an agricultural exporting country and the National Government should encourage the development of the countryside as it does with other sectors that are not productive. This leads one to think that Argentina's inefficiency is being rewarded. In this regard, it is said that part of these funds collected from exports are allocated to social policy. However, it is considered that there is no social policy because the underlying problems are not solved. What exists is a political and clientelist interest.
Once the debt swap is over, the representatives of the provinces are demanding investment from the Executive. If the countryside is doing well, our Argentina will also do well, concluded the senators of the radical bloc.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
