The objective is that agricultural equipment that has at least 50% of components manufactured in the country be recognized as Argentine.
For more than a decade, national agricultural machinery companies have been requesting the implementation of a new law that encourages the activity and that, within this framework, clearly distinguishes those that have at least 50% of components manufactured in the country. The truth is that this regulation continues to be expected in a context in which the sector suffers in its own flesh a decrease in sales as a result of the drought and the fall in the margins of the agricultural business.
Specifically, from the Argentine Chamber of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers (CAFMA) they explain that hand in hand with a new legislation recognize as Argentine the agricultural equipment they have, at least 50% of components manufactured in the country. With this distinction, it is expected that credits or subsidies granted by public banks for the purchase of agricultural machinery are used only to finance Argentine labor, among other benefits. Meanwhile, they emphasize that this request does not imply any special subsidy or expenses for the State, nor does it discriminate against foreign industries that actually manufacture in the country.
According to the projection made by CAFMA on the 40,000 jobs in the national agricultural machinery sector during 2022, if the Law were in place, they would amount to 69,567. “Agricultural machinery factories, being located in the interior of the country, have a strong social commitment to the community. For this reason, when there is a drop in sales, as has happened with the drought, they retained the staff, instead of dispensing with 23% of the plants, as they could have cut due to the difficult situation of this first semester,” the businessmen point out.
In general terms, national companies explain that currently Banco Nación offers loans for the purchase of agricultural machinery at rates well below inflation. For example, it recently launched a line of up to $60,000 million at a rate of 59%. By not discriminating by origin, this subsidy that the buyer receives has a greater effect outside of Argentina than inside, subsidizing foreign work.
The Agricultural Machinery Law project is currently in the Industry Commission, chaired by Deputy Marcelo Casaretto, then it has to go through Agriculture, chaired by Ricardo Buryaile, and later by Budget, chaired by Carlos Heller. “The only problem we have at this time is that politics is distracted by the campaigns, because there is a will to approve. But we have been working for more than a decade so that this Law, which has been promulgated in several countries around the world, ends up coming out,” they explained from CAFMA.
Along the same lines, the ruling party has even held various meetings with representatives of the agricultural machinery sector, but the truth is that the regulations are far from advancing in the Chamber of Deputies, although it is not ruled out that for the second half of the year There are concrete news.
Meanwhile, national companies are carrying out a strong campaign under the slogans “Agricultural Machinery Law NOW. +national industry +employment +investments” and “Agricultural Machinery Law NOW, for a better national industry”.
Source: Ambito
