The Vice Minister of Commerce, Pedro Mancuello, said that the toll that Argentina unilaterally applies to commercial vessels mainly affects Paraguay. But that this goes against the legal basis that governs Mercosur.
“96% of the traffic that moves under the waterway is the Paraguayan flag, it is a unilateral toll, which goes against the international agreements that were signed in Mercosur,” Mancuello said in a conversation with 1080 AM.
But the unilateral measure, the official added, not only remains there, but also violates the free competition stipulated in the Asunción treaty, since it establishes differentiated charges.
“Here there is also talk of discrimination, because they have a rate of 1.47 pesos (toll) per ton for national vessels and 1.47 dollars for foreign vessels,” he said.
Mancuello indicated that Argentina has already collected more than USD 5 million in toll collection on the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway, and that it wants to apply the irregular collection as a fait accompli. The companies that paid are from non-Mercosur zones. He pointed out that Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay and Bolivia formulated the rejection, but the Argentine government ignores the request.
“There is hope that the Argentine Justice itself judges the conduct of its government and considers that international agreements were not complied with,” he said.
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The entrance Unilateral toll applied by Argentina: 96% of the impact will be on Paraguay, because it is Mediterranean was first published on newspaper TODAY.
