Diego Licio, president of the entity, welcomed those present and recalled that the regulatory issue has been addressed since 2010. "We are celebrating ten years but it seems like twenty because we have worked hard and exchanged with many interlocutors. This new regulation is the result of joint work with national authorities and aims to achieve greater compliance with international standards," he noted.

Licio said that “the promotion and development of this business regime” is one of the objectives of the Chamber and that this sector of the economy represents approximately 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the latest surveys. “We estimate that with UPM 2 we could reach up to 6%, something that is extremely relevant. Economic growth helps generate well-being and prosperity for all Uruguayans,” he noted.

For their part, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Pablo Ferreri, and the legal advisor of the Chamber, Leonardo Costa, led the talk and focused their presentations on the importance of the sector for the national economy and on changes in regulations, based on international trends.

"It is important for us to be here today because this is a milestone of a joint work process between the public and private sectors to achieve the best result based on the interests of a sector of activity but fundamentally of the country. We are happy for the level of interaction and complementarity that we achieved, and I think it is a good model of how we should work for the interests of the country," said Ferreri.

Ferreri highlighted that in 2016, exports from the free zone regime were US$ 4,103 million, which means 28% of Uruguay's exports. Of that amount, 34% are external sales of services. These data are based on a study carried out by the MEF that will be presented in the coming days. This is an important growth in relation to the US$ 2,000,000 registered in 2014.

"We are facing a dynamic instrument for our economy. For a small country open to the world, which needs to export and do it well, it becomes extremely relevant," said the leader. On the other hand, he highlighted the decision made in his portfolio to “support those who innovate, those who take risks, invest and generate job opportunities.”

Costa, meanwhile, pointed out that although criteria were made more flexible from the private sector, they found a public sector willing to address the issue. "Practically all political sectors, in one way or another, helped get the law passed. This regulation is also the result of a political commitment," he pointed out.

The advisor developed the main points contemplated by the new law, among them the provision of services from free zones to non-free national territory to taxpayers taxed by the Income Tax from Economic Activities (IRAE), the activities of users outside the free zones, retail trade, new deadlines, extensions and revocation of contracts, new payrolls of national and foreign personnel.

FUENTE: https://www.mundomarketing.com/las-zonas-francas-son-responsables-del-28-de-las-exportaciones-uruguayas/