Transshipment of Goods for Export

On January 6, 2016, the Ministry of Transport repealed, through Resolution No. 3/2016, Provision No. 1108/2013 issued by the Undersecretary of Ports and Waterways.

The provision in question, issued in October 2013, stated that within the boundaries of the member countries of MERCOSUR, export cargo originating from Argentine ports, may only be transshipped through other ports of national jurisdiction or in the ports of MERCOSUR members and associated states with whom Argentina had maritime cargo shipping agreements.

In practice, this meant an impediment to perform transshipments at Uruguayan ports since, at the time of issuance of Provision No. 1108/2013, the only MERCOSUR state which fulfilled said requirement was Brazil, with whom Argentina has subscribed the Agreement on Maritime Transport of August 15, 1985 (approved by Law No. 23.557).

In the preamble to the derogation, the resolution argues that the provision "not only did not manage to reach the objectives which served as a basis for its adoption, but has also generated serious distortions in the operation of foreign trade at a regional level, seriously affecting its flow, with the consequent negative impact on export costs of Argentine goods, a fact which, moreover, has been emphasized repeatedly by most industry players".

Finally, the ministerial resolution recalls that amongst its main objectives, the Agreement of River Transport on the Paraguay-Parana Waterway (Law No. 24,385) secures the "freedom to transfer cargo, lightening, transshipment and storage of goods" between signatory countries.

The repeal of the Provision No. 1108/2013 of the Undersecretary of Ports and Waterways came into force after its publication in the Official Gazette on January 14, 2016.