The Confederation of Business Chambers (CCE) appreciated the government’s measures but called for action against the illegal entry of products that damage companies and jobs.
The Confederation of Business Chambers (CCE) considered that the measures announced by the government in order to combat the effects of the exchange difference on the border between Uruguay and Argentina They are not enough, and he called for greater action in the face of a problem that they have been experiencing “for some time.”
Through a statement, the CCE expressed its “deep concern” about the situation in the country’s border area, especially in businesses that “must face a daily unfair practice and compete with products entering the commercial chain illegally”.
Although the Chamber valued the measures announced this week by the government as they constitute a palliative to the situation of the price gap aggravated by the exchange difference between the two countries, they were not enough and “should be complemented with other provisions aimed at curbing the illegal entry of products into the national territory”.
Likewise, the CCE stated that the situation at the border “is not new”, but that it is something “structural”, and recalled that it was warned about it in the document Public Policy Agenda 2022, which was presented both to government authorities and to public opinion. According to the statement, this report already expressed the “particularly relevant” concern of companies and workers in the border departments “in light of the recent exchange rate delay process combined with regional instability, mainly in Argentina.”
Faced with this, the business union requested that the authorities “carry out the maximum official controls, as well as inspection procedures” that “guarantee” that Uruguayan businessmen, merchants, entrepreneurs and workers “do not have to face unfair competition, which puts at risk the sustainability of companies and sources of work”. They also ask for actions so that “consumers have access to products that guarantee safety.”
“In this very delicate situation for vast sectors of activity in the border areas, we urge the entire population to become aware and be active participants, avoiding the damage caused by the entry and sale of contraband products,” the text adds.
One in three companies suffers from falling sales
Likewise, the Uruguayan Chamber of Industries (CIU) presented a study on the effects of the exchange rate difference with Argentina and smuggling on sales in the commercial and industrial sector of the border areas, once again calling for a “zero kilo” policy.
According to a statement from the chamber, this investigation shows that contraband is supplying “up to 40% of its salesa situation that worsens according to the region of our territory analyzed and the passage of time.
This has had an impact on the Sales drop of at least 36% of the companies and businesses on the coast —31% of those surveyed considered that this was due to the incidence of smuggling.
Source: Ambito
