The Nationalist Group (CC-PNC) in the Cabildo of Lanzarote has obtained the support of the government group to demand that the State Government modify and update the standard transport costs in the Canary Islands, and thus guarantee that the industrial and primary sectors can mainly receive what is established in the law, being able to compete on equal terms as in the peninsular territory.
Only in this way, as the nationalists have explained in their motion, can the strict compliance with article 7 of the Economic and Fiscal Regime (REF) be guaranteed, which allows 100% compensation for the effective and real cost of maritime and air transport of goods and the standard costs for each route are determined.
The costs of transporting goods between the Canary Islands and between the Canary Islands and the peninsula and the rest of the European Union have increased significantly in recent years and especially in 2021.
“The escalation of prices has led to an increase in the costs of transporting goods of up to 300%, but the government refuses to update the standard costs and Canarian companies cannot benefit from a real 100% compensation”, recalled councilor Migdalia Machín, adding that “now we have an opportunity with our two deputies in the government”.
This will have serious consequences for the Canarian economy since “the companies that export are forced to raise prices and the citizens to assume an extra cost that according to our REF should not exist”, Machín insisted, who stressed that “we are talking about an economic problem that affects all Canarians”.
