The Secretary of Industry, Ariel Schale, authorities of business chambers and trade unionists will attend the National Congress on Tuesday to support before a plenary of commissions the reform of the Buy Argentine Law, which proposes to expand the margin of preference for local companies in public tenders. .
the ruling partywho aspires to be able to vote on this initiative as soon as possible to prop up national companiesneeds to thread agreements with Together for Change and other opposition groups to be able to take it to the precinct, due to the extreme parity that exists between the main parliamentary forces.
The Industry and Budget commissions – led by the deputies of the Front of All (FdT) Marcelo Casaretto and Carlos Hellerrespectively- will meet again this Tuesday at 1 pm to continue analyzing this project promoted by the national government.
The head of the Industry commission told Télam that “on Tuesday the Secretary of Industry Ariel Schale is going to speak, and we are going to invite national businessmen who invest and generate employment in Argentina and coincide with the law in the different industrial branches”
➡️Compre Argentino is a law that prioritizes national industry and local suppliers in public purchases.
Follow the broadcast of this event and learn about international experiences and news about the modification of the current law?https://t.co/2wLmL2qh3v pic.twitter.com/wTFy26qAyI
— Ministry of Productive Development (@produccion_arg) December 14, 2021
Casaretto added that “we are also going to cite workers’ unions that are in those sectors that defend the Buy Argentine, with which officials, businessmen and trade unionists are going to speak.”
The initiative contemplates the possibility of choosing a national company as a supplier despite the fact that its prices exceed -up to a certain limit- the proposals that foreign companies may make.
Through its implementation, the Government estimates that it could save US$500 million by stopping contracting foreign suppliers.
On the other hand, the project raises the preferences of national micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) from 15% to 20%, while the others go from 8% to 15%.
Foreign companies may be benefited with up to 12% preference if they are made up of national capital, while there will also be a 3% benefit for companies with a majority composition of women, whether in social capital, hierarchical positions and general staff.
Project Objectives
The initiative expands the scope of the law in force at PAMI to supply the pharmaceutical and medical equipment industry with national capital
The incorporation of social work for retirees, the creation of a Trust Fund, and the new margins of preference were criticized by Together for Change and other opposition groups.
On these points, Casaretto clarified last Thursday that some reforms will be introduced, among which he mentioned the possibility that some companies may be included within a margin “of 23 percent temporary and subject to approval by the Chief of Staff for provinces that have regional asymmetries.
Buy Argentine: a law to favor local companies in public tendershttps://t.co/TAr3Ehge8y
—Telam Agency (@TelamAgency) May 10, 2022
Casaretto advanced that another change that will be promoted to the original text would be the modification of article 16, which is “the definition of what is a strategic good”, specifying that “those that are innovative products or potential jobs of quality or generate significant impacts in the value chain”
The bench of the Front of All -led by German Martínez- requires agreements to be able to sanction the initiatives due to the extreme parity it has with JXC since the ruling party has 117 legislators and the main opposition with 116.
The ruling party aspires to be able to count on the support of the four legislators from the United Provinces bloc, one from the Neuquén Popular Movement, two from the SER bloc, and awaits the definition of the Federal Interbloc, which has eight deputies who are key to passing this law.
In any case, he does not rule out being able to agree on the initiative with Together for Change, since in 2017 the Compre Argentino project was approved at the request of the Government of Cambiemos, which now objects to the inclusion of PAMI in the new law, among others. issues.
