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prepare a comprehensive plan, to then discuss the legal framework

prepare a comprehensive plan, to then discuss the legal framework

The declaration of a provincial norm in La Rioja that declares lithium as a “strategic resource” became a national debate. “I wish other governors would advance like Quintela,” a national minister told this newspaper, referring to the governor of the province. From another ministry, they opined: “Quintela makes all this noise and in La Rioja there is no social license for mining, even less in an election year.”

In business, there is a consensus to repudiate the provincial law, and even request that after its approval, the governor, Ricardo Quintela, not promulgate or regulate it, according to the claim of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA). A mining businessman assured that the problem is not that he declares lithium as a strategic resource, but the articles of the law that suspend exploration and concessions already granted for 120 days, which he defined as a “kind of expropriation.”

In addition, it leaves “permits that have been granted expired” and establishes that any activity must be carried out with the state company of La Rioja. Sources from the chamber of mining suppliers assured that it is a “bad sign of legal stability”, which occurs “meters” from a project such as Josemaría, which is in San Juan, on the border with La Rioja, and where a historic investment of over u$s 5,000 million to return to producing copper in Argentina.

Debate in the Government

Within the government, there are debates about what to do with lithium. Regarding the regulatory framework, the only clear definition is that the National Constitution is not going to be modified, which establishes that the resources are provincial. There is a sector of the Frente de Todos, close to Vice President Cristina Kirchner, who wants to modify the fees, withholdings, improve collection, declare it as a strategic resource and establish a “quota” so that the private companies that exploit the resource stop in the country for local industrialization.

In Casa Rosada they assure that the fees were updated with the budget law, and that although withholdings could be raised by the social solidarity law, it would generate a lot of “noise” and little impact on exports of US$700 million per year. In Economy they assure that, to improve the payment of taxes of the lithium miners, Customs made criminal complaints to one of the companies for million-dollar under-invoicing in its exports. There is consensus that the nationalization of the mineral will not be sought, nor will foreign investment be prevented.

The truth is that before advancing in any of these debates, the Casa Rosada first wants to define the strategy, something that it will do with the presentation this year of a “national plan for the comprehensive development of the lithium chain.” All the members of the FdT sit there: Alberto Fernández via the Secretariat for Strategic Affairs, Sergio Massa via the Ministry of Economy and Cristina Kirchner through the presence of the Minister of the Interior, Wado de Pedro. The governors of Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca and public companies such as YPF sit at the table that outlines this plan. As Ámbito was able to find out, a regulatory framework that will be sought to be incorporated to add industrialization is to establish a new electromobility bill.

Source: Ambito

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