Argentina: tanners to be encouraged, not forced, to supply local firms first
18/11/2014
Representative bodies have told the government their member companies are finding it difficult to secure sufficient supply of leather because local tanners are shipping their finished leather to overseas customers instead.
Some groups have even called on the government to apply a 1970s law that guarantees supply to the domestic market first, but government sources have told media that this law, known as the Ley de Abastecimiento, could only be used as a last resort.
In 2012, the government threatened to close down companies involved in the supply chain of yerba mate, a herb from which Argentineans make a famous tea, because supplies were dwindling and prices soaring too high for ordinary consumers. Footwear and leathergoods manufacturers have said this is now happening with leather.
The government has indicated that, while it does not want to enforce this law, it will seek to take some measures to ensure local finished product manufacturers have access to locally produced leather.
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