CIMA against removal of export duties
CIMA (Chamber of Leather and Affiliated Manufacturers for the
In his response to the plan, Raul Zylbersztein, President of CIMA, stressed the need for exporting finished consumer goods such as wallets, saddles, belts and footwear if
Mr Zylbersztein believes export duties should not only be maintained but extended to all hides produced in the country - flayed, bovine, caprine and equine ones – and, on a smaller scale, to semi-finished and finished hides, leading to decreased tax pressure which encourages larger production and increased exports.
“Leather manufacturing is an emblematic industry in our country. It creates employment and promotes local industry, but despite this we only process 15% of all the slaughter. We should think about increasing this rate,” he said.
He added: “Elimination of export duties will push for the commercialisation of products without added value, punishing regional economies, employment and exports, and possibly resulting in thousands of lost jobs in the sector and an annual slump of exports worth $1 billion.”
