Overview
- In mid-October ARCA issued a resolution that set a US$150 daily cap for Tráfico Vecinal Fronterizo, banned exports of some raw materials and limited packages to 10 kilograms, changing long-standing rules for La Quiaca–Villazón trade.
- Merchants, unions and municipal leaders in La Quiaca warned the measures would sharply cut incomes and announced protests, with a local business leader estimating about 3,500 families could lose work.
- Provincial governors from Salta and Jujuy intervened and municipalities including Aguas Blancas and Salvador Mazza filed a collective amparo in Federal Court to halt the rule's application.
- On Wednesday ARCA postponed enforcement for 120 days and called mesas de trabajo to reassess implementation, a move provincial officials hailed as an opening for negotiation.
- During the suspension period negotiators will need to balance tighter anti-diversion controls with protections for an informal cross-border value chain made up of vendors, carriers and service workers whose daily incomes depend on small-scale trade.