Argentina remained firm in its position of collect a toll for international transport on a section of the waterway. He argued that it is a sovereign decision and therefore he will not back down with the decision made, despite the refusal of the rest of the countries that also share that navigable route.
This Thursday an extensive meeting at the Uruguayan embassy in Buenos Aires of the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway Agreement Commission. The meeting had a central theme: the collection of a US$1.47 toll per net register ton that the Argentine government carries out on the waterway since January 1.
In the minutes of the meeting The Argentine delegation affirmed that it is their sovereign power to provide services and carry out works improvement of the waterway from the confluence of the Paraguay River to Santa Feand also the way in which these works and services are managed.
He explained that the necessary tasks to carry out safe navigation in accordance with international standards have been carried out since 2010. He added that the toll rate arose from an equation that considered the real costs of operating the system and the number of tons transited in that section. of the waterway.
The four remaining delegations (Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay) They asked Argentina to postpone the collection of the toll and to form a technical commission that could exchange information and define later if it was justified. However, Argentina did not support the motion and upheld its decision.
With the conflicting positions, it was difficult for the meeting to come together towards an agreement, but it was also agreed to hold a new meeting of the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway Agreement Commission to be held in Montevideo during the second week of April.
Despite the fact that four of the five members of the commission did not agree with the unilateral resolution adopted by one of the countries, there is no formal impediment for Argentina to continue with the toll collection.
The toll
Since January 1, Argentina ordered the collection of a toll for international transport on the waterway, in the section between the port of Santa Fe and the confluence of the Paraguay River with the Paraná.
The toll is US$1.47 per net registered ton of the vessel, a unit of measurement that arises from the calculation of the volumetric weight of the vessel and its dimensions. The measure was imposed by the Argentine Ministry of Transportation through a resolution dated December 29, 2022.
The charge is applied to the barge when it carries the load and when it returns, generally empty. The new provision generated preoccupation in the government and port operators in Paraguay. The industrialists of that country use the transit modality for the exit of their exports.
They load the merchandise that transits through the waterway and is later unloaded in Argentine ports, Nueva Palmira or Montevideo. There, a transshipment is made to overseas ships that transport it to its final destination.
Currently, 98% of Paraguayan merchandise in containers goes abroad through the port of Montevideo. And part of the bulk cargo, such as grains or iron ore, ends up in Nueva Palmira.
22 million tons pass through the waterway. Of this total, 14 million are from Paraguayan merchandise, 6 million from Brazil and 2 million from Bolivia..
The estimates of the Paraguayan private sector is that the collection of the toll will generate a additional cost of US$40 million per year.
In the Uruguayan port sector it was understood that the measure had two reasons. On the one hand, penalize Paraguayan shippers for opting for local ports. On the other, stop the increase in container movement in the port of Montevideo, clearly favored by the arrival of Guaraní cargo.
The port had a record movement in 2022 by operating more than 1 million TEUS (measurement equivalent to a 20-foot container).
