Argentina put new rules in place for the importation of footwear on September 1st, and the result is more than 620,000 pairs of Brazilian shoes held up at customs on the border.
The Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados) estimates that goods worth US$ 5 million are being held up, not only on the border, but in Buenos Aires warehouses, as well, instead of being shipped to stores.
And on the Brazilian side of the border, thousands and thousands more pairs of shoes, which should have been shipped to Argentina, are stockpilied in factories in Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo.
Abicalçados is upset because the new rules were implanted abruptly. “This was an unexpected and radical decision. It means we have to request a new license, which can take 60 days.” Before, an export license was a mere formality.
Last year Brazil exported 15.3 million pairs of shoes to Argentina. In the first half of this year the total is 6.5 million.
ABr
