The government established a series of conditions in the decree that brings the duty cut into force.

The government brought last week’s cuts to agricultural duties into force via a decree issued on Monday. The measure will be in place until June 30. 

The norm lists the new duty rates for certain products, which were announced by Economy Minister Luis Caputo on Thursday, and adds a series of conditions farmers have to comply with in order to receive the benefit.

From Monday until the end of June, export duty rates will be reduced from 33% to 26% on soybeans, 31% to 24.5% on soybean derivatives,12% to 9.5% on wheat, 12% to 9.5% on barley, 12% to 9.5% on sorghum, 12% to 9.5% on corn, and 7% to 5.5% on sunflower. The new export duties for other products are listed in the second annex of the decree.

The norm was published in the Official Gazette on Monday and signed by President Javier Milei, Caputo, and Chief of Staff Guillermo Francos. It states that, in order to receive this benefit, exporters have to sell “at least” 95% of the dollars earned from the transaction to the Central Bank 15 days after filling out an “affidavit of sale abroad.” 

If exporters don’t comply with the stated conditions, they will have to pay the export duties that applied before this measure took effect. The previous export duties will be reinstated after June 30.

The Central Bank, the agriculture secretariat and the ARCA tax agency will be in charge of enforcing the new norm.

The decree also includes an annex with a list of regional products that will no longer have to pay export duties. It includes sugar, cotton, wine, tobacco, forestry and rice, among others. The same measure had been announced in 2023, during Alberto Fernández’s administration. However, Caputo said in a press conference on Thursday that those regional products’ exports were still paying “residual” export duties.

The declaration states that the measure seeks to promote a near-term recovery of the agricultural sector and boost exports at a time of weak international pricing and challenging local weather conditions.

It also aims to make the sector more competitive. According to the government, agroindustrial exports currently represent “over 60% of the country’s total exports.”

Source - https://buenosairesherald.com