Air international trade in Argentina was virtually paralyzed this Tuesday after the Federal Administration of Public Revenue (AFIP) proceeded with a «computer block» for 72 hours on the Terminal de Cargas Argentina (TCA) at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, a facility responsible for more than 95% of the country’s air import and export goods movement.
This decision was justified by AFIP in a note detailing that since last April, there are goods covered under four airway bills whose location and status are unknown. This is deemed a «notably serious event since it implies the impossibility for the licensee to locate goods for which they are the custodian.»
In the note, AFIP explained that initially, there were eight «searched» guides, four of which were located in July. However, since then, there have been no responses from the TCA about the rest, which they claim is «a more than reasonable time to conduct a broad and deep search to determine the status of the goods» given it’s «a defined and controlled environment like a tax warehouse.»
Airlines, one of the main stakeholders affected by this measure, expressed their concern over what they defined as a «sudden and unexpected halt in air foreign trade operations in Argentina.»
Felipe Baravalle, Executive Director of the Chamber of Airlines in Argentina-JURCA, noted that this causes «automatic and immediate severe economic and operational repercussions for the Air Cargo industry and those requiring this service for 24-hour solutions.»
«Given the note’s surprise, several operators have been forced to request the ‘Air Embargo’ (suspension of cargo reception and shipment to this destination) as the note, while explaining its reasons related to imports, also causes the complete halt of ongoing exports. There’s a need to suspend everything underway or scheduled for the coming days, something rarely seen before: the total shutdown of Argentina’s air market with the world,» continued Baravalle. He emphasized that the significant disruption in the supply chains and logistics of air foreign trade will affect many companies and economic sectors that rely on it to remain competitive in the global market.
“This airport accounts for more than 95% of the country’s Cargo operations. Applying this complete cargo halt without considering how it impacts Argentina’s brand in foreign markets is hard to understand. Is it understood that the import and export of Biological origin goods (Vaccines, medical samples, critical medicines intended for heart transplants, etc.) and Perishables (Fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, dairy, etc.) are at risk?» concluded the head of JURCA, urging the competent authorities to take all necessary measures to urgently resolve the situation.
