Port-based stevedores do not buy or sell goods – international companies that operated based on international rules do that, said Latvian Stevedoring Company Association’s council member Jānis Kasalis in his interview to programme “Kas notiek Latvijā” on the 20th of March.
Latvian Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze stressed – when it comes to categories of goods and trade restrictions, it should start with estimates as to how it could impact the national economy.
“Then we will be able to say it costs fifty or hundred millions,” said Armands Krauze, discussing the transit of manganese ore and the possibilities of banning it. “Five, seven or ten thousand [workers] would lose their jobs. All Latvian residents, the government included, have to understand this,” said the minister.
As for possible alternatives to fill holes in the state budget after restricting transit flow, Krauze said one option would be the introduction of more progressivism for personal income tax. “Add interest and get those millions”. The minister also said this burden could be put on wealthy residents. “By introducing more progressivism, including for non-wage income that comes from dividends and everything else.”
Jānis Kasalis, on the other hand, stressed that sea ports, stevedores specifically, neither buy nor sell goods. “We’re not involved as traders in this chain. International companies that operated based on international rules are the ones who buy and sell goods. Whether it’s grain, manganese ore or something else, you will find companies the budget of which exceeds Latvia’s entire budget. We don’t buy anything and we have no say were freight is carried. It’s decided by international companies.”
Jānis Kasalis explained that every [international] company has shareholders, every shareholder has a policy and every shareholder makes decisions.
“We follow international sanctions, pay taxes to the state, which then decides how to aid Ukraine and our own citizens.”
As for the cause behind the drop in freight volumes, LSA council member said it can be explained with the constant decrease in the amount of goods sent in transit. “We are weakening our economy, we are weakening transit, but this volume is going down. Coal is not coming in because Poland doesn’t really need it any more. If we look at petrol products, there are all kinds of sanctions. If we are talking about grain, then of course our activities have also been noticed outside the borders and there are enough traders who are looking for other places to divert these goods. If the goal is to reduce the volume of cargo, then we are successfully moving in this direction,” said Jānis Kasalis.
Also read: LSA: it’s important to make sanctions more effective
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