The government is asking car manufacturers for dollars so as not to paralyze production

The government has regularized a request made by car manufacturers that those auto parts that have been included are not considered imports to be then re-exported inside nationally manufactured vehicles.

This statement, although it seemed almost elementary, requested a meeting of the board of directors of the central bank for approval, which took place on Thursday afternoon. The BCRA has also finalized the implementation of the information system that now allows the automotive back up your dollar credits officers immediately available for your suppliers. It was also a situation that had been agreed upon in theory, but that right at the end of this week entered into force.

The two innovations were well received by businessmen, who underlined it “will decompress” the situation inside the factories. “It is not a basic solutionbut it is an improvement on the situation we are in today, “said one of the principal directors of the Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ADEFA).

On the part of the Government, in fact, they made a whole staging for the announcement: in the Palacio de Hacienda the Minister of Economy sat at the same table, Silvia Batakistogether with his former boss and now colleague Minister of Production, Daniele Scioli, and the president of the Central Bank, Miguel Pesce. The new Secretary of Internal Commerce also attended, Martin Pollera.

On the entrepreneurial side, the directors of ADEFA intervened: its owner, Martin Galdeano (Ford), together with the entity’s executive director, Fernando Rodríguez Canedoand managers Gustavo Salinas (President of Toyota), Federico Ovejero (Deputy General Motors) e Martin Zuppi (owner of Stellantis).

“We are committed to working with each of the different areas favor productionny encourage the creation of genuine employment “, the Minister of Economy said cautiously, in the official statement balanced so much so that he also had statements by Scioli and Pesce.

The truth is, officials ended up putting together a mini-summit to announce a solution to a problem armed alone.

Last week, when the Minister of Economy was still Martín Guzmán, the Central Bank published Communication “A” 7532, which extended to the entire productive sector the obligation to finance imports that fall under the Global Monitoring System for 180 days of imports (SIMI), the system for import licenses not automatic.

What does it mean? That the Central approves the imports and undertakes to grant the dollars at the official price to pay them, but not immediately, but with a delay of six months.

This obligation does not apply to all imports, but from a certain quota, which is equivalent to 105% of the dollars that each company requested from the Central during the previous year.

After this quota, the importing company must ask its foreign supplier, or a financial entity, to do so finance you 180 days dollars to pay for those imports.

But in the case of the auto industry, something else happened.

Imports under the temporary admission they do not fall within the restrictions of the Central. Temporary admission is an import that is carried out for a certain period, to be thereafter re-exported. Car manufacturers are the classic example: each locally produced vehicle has between 50% and 70% imported auto parts. In turn, 70% of local production is exported.

But instead of entering the automotive industry as a “temporary admission”, they do so under another name: “Factory Customs Regime”. A bureaucratic detail, but which for more than a week left the car manufacturers in the opposite situation: fromr potential bankers of their auto parts dealers, they had to face the fact that they had to go overseas to get dollars not only to import their vehicles, but also their auto parts.

Just this Thursday, after a BCRA board meeting, the “Factory Customs Regime” was established. also excluded from 105% of the dollars calculate for the quota established by the body chaired by Pesce. And they’ve also implemented the computer system that allows an automaker to back up its dollar credit to an auto parts manufacturer.

“We were told that the possibility already exists that if a company generates a loan with the BCRA, it can sell it to an auto parts company and take on the 180-day loan as its own. It had already been agreed, but is now available. also in the BCRA system, “said one of ADEFA’s directors.

Inside the automakers they took the two news as a relief, which saves them time keep factories running during the second half of the year.

“The two outstanding issues have been resolved and it is good, as now temporary imports of auto parts will not be included in the calculation that each company has to make to dispose of 105% of the dollars used last year,” he added. manager.

“Specifically, this generates more dollars, either to use for the automaker or to give it to an auto parts dealer and take the 180-day debt on their behalf. You can give it to a direct auto parts dealer and he, in turn. you can entrust it to another supplier of yours, the ones we call the second or third ring of suppliers. All this should help to decompress the situation a bit. It is not a fundamental solution, but it is an improvement on the situation in which we find ourselves today, “said the executive.