So far in April, Customs has not approved the entry of any car into the country. Due to the shortage of foreign currency, the process is delayed
By iProfessional
26/04/2023 – 17,25hs
The import of cars is paralyzed in Argentina, as a result of financial instability and the shortage of dollars from the Central Bank, which prevents operations through the official price.
So far in April, no car has been approved for entry through the Import System of the Argentine Republic (SIRA), according to what was reported by the website specialized in the automotive sector, Motor1 Argentina.
The import of cars is paralyzed: the SIRA system, in the crosshairs
The SIRA, which has been going on for a year since it was launched by the Government, allows payment to the port of origin through different types of operations. One of them is with the official BCRA dollar.
It is usually a procedure that usually takes time, but given the current scenario, which deepens the lack of US currency from the national monetary authority, the process takes even longer and is about to reach a month without generating the authorization for the entry of vehicles into the country.
This situation especially affects small and medium-sized cars, especially those imported from Brazil, since They are models accustomed to entering the official dollar in order to achieve a relatively competitive price in the Argentine market.
Before this panorama, National production units predominate in dealerships, reaching almost 70% of the available supply for more than a year.
Due to the difficulties to import, 70% of the automotive supply is of national production.
The customs obstacles also affect consumers embarked on savings plans, who must wait several months until the SIRA is approved to obtain their units, even in the case of vehicles that have already been awarded by lottery or tender.
The bureaucratic obstacles caused by the delicate economic context do not reach mostly luxury cars, since they are entered through the SIRA option to “pay with your own dollars”.
In this case, the buyer contributes their currencies that must be declared and in bank accounts with blank dollars. Although this method escapes delay, It was not the exception to the zero entry of vehicles into the country during the fourth month of the year.
To relieve the dollar, the Government enables imports in yuan
Economy Minister Sergio Massa announces a program that seeks to expedite imports in yuan, with the aim of bringing relief to the dollar. The official’s initiative will be to replace, in May, US$1,070 million that were going to be paid in US currency.
In addition, as of May, there are US$790 million that will stop being imported in US currency and they will be imported in yuan taking advantage of the swap activationwhich will bring relief to the coffers of the Central Bank.
The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa; the Chinese ambassador in Argentina, Zou Xiaoli; Ministry officials and Argentine businessmen. Based on an agreement with the different companies, with the ICBC, the Banco Popular Chino and the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, we reprogrammed the payment instrument for more than 1040 million dollars of imports originating in China, that stop weighing on the outflow of our dollars and they become part of the Yuan outflow,” explained the head of the Palacio de Hacienda.
