Brazil will not renew maritime transport agreements with Argentina and Uruguay

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro issued a decree, to be published in Wednesday’s edition of the Federal Gazette, establishing that Brazil has decided not to renew, as of October 7, 2021, the Agreement on Maritime Transport signed on June 12, 1975 between Brazil and Uruguay.

As of February 5, 2022, the same will apply to the validity of the Agreement on Maritime Transport between Brazil and Argentinam signed on August 15, 1985.

Both treaties established that all goods carried by sea between the neighboring countries could only be transported by national shipping companies authorized by the countries’ respective maritime authorities, thus excluding third-flag carriers.

According to a note from the General Secretariat of the Presidency, “the measure is part of the process of Brazil’s accession to the OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development], one of the country’s foreign policy priorities, as well as encouraging competition and competitiveness in the sector’s service provision.”

The decision was reached at the 2nd Ordinary Meeting of the Chamber of Foreign Trade’s (CAMEX) Strategy Council, held on December 9, 2020, and was conveyed to the government of Uruguay on February 9, 2021, and to the government of Argentina on February 3, 2021, according to the secretary-general’s office.

The non-renewal option is explicitly foreseen in the treaties, as well as in the 1969 Vienna Convention, which in turn refers to the provisions of the respective treaties, according to the government.