6 September 2023

The cargo reservation agreement

The cargo reservation agreement promoted by Argentina and Brazil, which Uruguay opposes, establishes that freight between ports of Mercosur countries could only be carried by vessels registered in those countries. Dr. Mónica Ageitos (President of Centro de Navegación) in the May issue of Comex Latam explained that "the main shipping lines would not be able to carry out the transport between Brazil and Uruguay or between Argentina and Uruguay, since the cargo entering from third countries in foreign flag vessels will have to be loaded later in feeder vessels to reach the other ports of the region. This will mean additional port movement and freight costs. Thus, the investments being made in infrastructure and dredging would no longer make sense because feeder vessels do not need so much draft".