Businessmen from Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay rejected this Friday the toll imposed on the transit of cargo vessels in the Argentine section of the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, considering that it “represents a violation of regional regulations”, and called on the Government of that country to rectify that situation.
Source: EFE
In a joint statement, the Santa Cruz Chamber of Exporters, Logistics and Investment Promotion (CADEX), the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP) and the Uruguayan Chamber of Industries (CIU) They established their position around a resolution of the Ministry of Transportation of Argentina (1023/2022) that sets the rate.
The provision established, as of January 1 of this year, a rate of 1.47 dollars per ton for vessels that carry out international transport and 1.47 Argentine pesos (0.0081 dollars) per ton for cabotage cargo (national) in the Puerto de Santa Fe-Confluencia section of the waterway.
This measure “represents a violation of regional regulations, which will mean an extra cost for importing and exporting companies, affecting all logistics costs,” said the statement, entitled “The agreements on the waterway must be respected” and dated in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in Asunción and Montevideo.
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The businessmen expressed their concern and warned that the decision establishes “discriminatory treatment” between international transport and cabotage cargo.
In that context, They requested the governments of their countries to take the necessary steps to repeal the resolution.
“While we call on the Government of the Argentine Republic to adopt the necessary measures to urgently rectify this situation, so that the agreements signed on the matter are respected,” added the note released in Paraguay by the IPU, ensuring and guaranteeing the good performance of international trade”.
The toll affects the section of the Paraná River between the Port of Santa Fe (kilometer 590 of the waterway) and the confluence with the Paraguay River (kilometer 1240).
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The waterway is an important river corridor for Paraguay and its neighbors. In the case of Bolivia and Paraguay, which do not have access to the sea, this artery is an outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.
