The Chamber of Industries of Uruguay (CIU) received the president of Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU), Diego Labat, at an event organized by industrialists to find out about the Payment System in Local Currency (SML) with Argentina, within the framework of the letter of intent that the authorities of the central banks signed with the aim of promoting commercial exchange between both countries.
Labat was accompanied by the head of Infrastructure and Payment System Projects of the BCU, Antonio Zarrillo, and were received by the president of the CIU, Fernando Pache; the president of the Foreign Trade Commission, Washington Duran; and the former president of the CIU, Alfredo Antia.
The head of the economic team presented to the industrial and exporting companies the progress achieved with the implementation of the new instrument and in the search to overcome non-tariff barriers with Argentina.
From the business sector, the realization of this possibility was sought for a long time in view of the new conditions imposed by the Argentine Republic to access the Single Free Exchange Marketknown as MULC, among which are the terms of 180 days from dispatch for payment of exports, the implementation of a new computer system for the application and authorization of import licenses, and the increase in the universe of items reached by the modality of non-automatic licences.
These regulatory changes caused, according to figures from the Chamber, a 177% increase in the number of tariff items subject to the obligation to process non-automatic import licenses and favored the 43% of the total value of exports Uruguayans, without counting soybeans or electricity, will be subject to this regime, mainly affecting the auto parts, metallurgical, plastic, chemical and food sectors, among others.
What changes does the SML introduce?
The SML between both countries will allow payments of trade operations of goods and services (except financial), documented in Uruguayan pesos or Argentine pesos. Also, it is allowed transfers classified as retirement and pensions, when there is a bilateral agreement signed between the pension institutes of both countries.
The president of the Chamber of Industries, Fernando Pache, said that the system It will allow companies to have less costs “for not having the costs of dollar-peso arbitrations”, in this case. “And on the other hand, we have the expectation that Argentina will facilitate the automatic and non-automatic import licensesby receiving export documentation in Uruguayan pesos from Uruguay to Argentina, makes it much easier for us and makes us an operational fast track and that allows the Uruguayan exporter to know where he is standing and in what term he can export ”, he explained.
“We hope that with this system that will change, there is good will, clearly, on the part of both governments, and the Uruguayan government through the Central Bank and Ministry of Economy It has helped us enormously so that this is unlocked together with the actions that the Chamber has carried out with its peer from the Argentine Industrial UnionPache pointed out.
The representative of the business sector assured that the system is already operational: “20 days ago a Uruguayan operation came out and I can assure you that another one came out today, in the morning.”
Labat pointed out for his part that this is an agreement “that what it seeks is that Uruguayan or Argentine companies can invoice in their own currency or in the currency of the other country, in Uruguayan or Argentine pesos, and that should facilitate, should propose cheaper and ultimately more efficient mechanisms for all”. The hierarch affirmed that the BCU will work together with the Chamber “case by case” to resolve the difficulties that may arise in this operation.
Source: Ambito
