5 December 2022

Uruguay opposes the "cargo reservation" agreement promoted by Argentina and Brazil

The Multilateral Cargo Agreement establishes that freight between ports of Mercosur countries may only be carried by vessels registered in those countries. Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay have already signed this agreement. It is under study by Venezuela and has not been signed by Uruguay. Therefore, it is not yet being implemented. Some of the reasons for not supporting this agreement are the following: Less competition, which necessarily leads to higher freight rates. It slows down operations and decreases trade. We would lose our status as a hub port, greatly complicating transits. We would be forced to transship goods passing through ports of Mercosur countries.