On August 18, 2024, Bolivia’s President Luis Arce enacted Supreme Decree No. 5212 of 2024, which temporarily waives import tariffs on a range of agricultural goods, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, germination inhibitors, plant growth regulators, and agricultural machinery. The decree’s annex outlines the specific products eligible for the tariff exemption.
The primary objective of the tariff waiver under the decree is to bolster the country’s agricultural sector by reducing the financial burden associated with importing essential inputs.
Bolivia’s Minister of Economy and Public Finances, Marcelo Montenegro, explained that the reduction of this tariff is intended to “alleviate the [price] increase that has occurred in these items” and that it “will provide relief to the agricultural sector that has been hit by the rise of prices in international transport and speculation in the exchange rate.” The president of the Confederation of Private Business Owners in Bolivia said the decree will benefit small, medium, and large agricultural producers at a critical time.
The decree took effect three business days following its publication in the Official Gazette on August 29, 2024. (Dispocisión Transitoria Primera.) It will be in effect until June 30, 2025. (Art. Único.)
Unless extended further, the decree will expire on July 1, 2025, and the tariff rates established under Supreme Decree No. 29349 of November 21, 2007 will be reinstated. The 2007 decree as amended establishes a tariff structure with rates of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, or 40%, depending on the product.
Stephania Alvarez, Law Library of Congress
September 11, 2024
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