Following the protests reported on August 29, Costa Rican authorities decided that as of September 9, units with foreign plates transiting from border to border in the country will be monitored by GPS and will no longer be given convoy escort.
Monday, August 31, 2020
As a form of protest, drivers of cargo vehicles kept the traffic blocked at Paso Canoas, a border post between Panama and Costa Rica. The drivers' discontent was due to the measure applied by the Costa Rican government, which consists of providing convoy accompaniment to units that transit from border to border.
The conflict ended on the afternoon of August 29th, when the Costa Rican government confirmed that as of September 9th, the public forces will no longer escort the pilots who transit through its territory.
According to official information, the figure of the convoy will be replaced by existing logistics options, such as the use of traceability mechanisms that allow real-time geolocation of transport units.
Duayner Salas, interim Minister of Foreign Trade, said that "the lifting of this measure is the first step in the process of comprehensive review being conducted by the inter-agency group and has been duly validated by the health authority, ensuring health protection and greater fluidity of land logistics operations".
Nacion.com reviews that "... Costa Rica keeps in force the so called sanitary route. This implies that the truck transits in a defined route from the border to a company or fiscal warehouse, which must be authorized and registered with the authorities of the Ministry of Health. On that sanitary route, the trucks are controlled by GPS units."
The article adds that "... In retaliation against Costa Rica's measures, the rest of the nations in the region maintain measures only applicable to Costa Rican plates. In Panama and Nicaragua, they are not allowed to leave with cargo and this makes freight more expensive, according to the sector's chambers. In the rest of the nations, Costa Rican trucks can only load and unload in a fiscal warehouse and not in the companies' warehouses."
Arguing that there is unfair treatment in the other countries of the region, Costa Rican drivers of cargo vehicles block the transit through the border posts of Penas Blancas and Paso Canoas.
Arguing that it is not allowed to leave with cargo from the rest of the countries in the region, Costa Rican transporters are protesting at the border between Costa Rica and Panama, and are asking the authorities to apply reciprocal measures.
The discontent of Costa Rican businessmen could hinder the transit of goods in Central America, and although as of midday on July 7 no blockades of cargo transport had been reported, the sector does not rule out extending the protests.
After the Costa Rican government decided to impose several restrictions on heavy transport units entering its territory, the Honduran government decided to grant Costa Rican pilots only 72 hours in the country.
The monitoring of trucks by GPS to supervise the scheduled routes and the time of the carrier in the country, is the proposal of the Costa Rican authorities so that the cargo transport units of Central America can enter their territory.
español
3483
