The Secretary of Domestic Commerce of the Nation, Paula Español, sealed an agreement with the authorities of the Argentine Chamber of Publications (CAP) and the Argentine Federation of the Graphic and Related Industry (FAIGA) to promote the edition, printing and commercialization of books in Argentina for the local market and export.
The agreement was ratified by representatives of the book industry value chain, who assumed the commitment to prioritize copies published in Argentina and foreign editions printed in the country, with national labor and paper to export to the world.
“This agreement is historic because it is the result of joint work between the National State and the institutions to promote the national book industry and strengthen the value chain in each of its links. Over the last year, overcoming the challenges posed by the pandemic, we were able to see the fruits of this joint work: the sector positively reversed the trade balance, recovered pre-pandemic production levels and generated almost four thousand jobs, “said Español .
In addition, the Secretary of Domestic Trade added that “this happened within the framework of the promotion and incentive policies implemented by the National Government and the commitment assumed by the private sector to generate the necessary tools for the industry. This is the path that we are going to continue deepening for the next country. “
For his part, Juan Carlos Sacco from the Argentine Federation of the Graphic and Related Industry affirmed that “we are very happy because since we met with the Spanish secretary, who has a special sensitivity for this area, today we can say that it is fulfilled a year of great success for the sector. This is that all the graphs that make books in the country are full and that the government instead of going out to buy abroad buy everything here and that is fundamental for our development ”.
Also Rodolfo Reyna from the Argentine Chamber of Publications expressed: “This line of work in conjunction with the entire book value chain from paper to the bookstore was something that did not happen before because we were all segmented, and today we can say that it brought a lot of good results. We achieved great communication with the Secretariat and have established a very good relationship with the Ministry of Education with programs such as the National Reading Plan. This type of agreement is very important for the industry, because the final result of the book that one reads, previously has many steps and policies that have generated a lot of work ”.
The agreement between the different chambers and federations representing the book industry, in conjunction with the policies promoted by the National Executive Branch through initiatives such as those carried out by the Ministries of Education and Culture, made it possible for the participation of books The national industry in the domestic market has grown by 57.6% year-on-year and production increases by 4.3 million copies, reaching a total of 12,100,000 units (56% increase compared to 2019). At the same time, the reincorporation of 3,700 direct jobs was achieved, plus the indirect ones provided by the printing industry and, so far in 2021, the sector was able to recover pre-pandemic production levels.
The agreement between the graphic cameras and the national government determines the commitment to guarantee access to the book to all Argentines and Argentines, strengthen the internal market and prioritize the national production of small, medium and large publishing and graphic companies, through standards of production and improvements in competitiveness for the products that are manufactured and marketed in the country.
Within the framework of this agreement, the continuity of the mandatory certification of printed graphic products, established by resolution 253/2020, prior to their commercialization in the domestic market, was made official, and is permanently incorporated into books, albums or picture books and notebooks for drawing or coloring.
The certification of printed graphic products guarantees that the copies do not exceed the limits established for the migration of heavy metals determined by the IRAM NM 300-3 Standard and establishes the analysis of the ink of graphic products that enter the country in order to detect toxic substances. Like other technical regulations that depend on the Ministry of Internal Trade, certification involves local tests in technical organizations and recognized laboratories in the country. Likewise, academic publications and small print runs, less than 500 copies per month, are exempt from certification. The Undersecretary of Policies for the Internal Market, Matías Ginsberg, and the National Director of Technical Regulations, Nicolás Bonofiglio, participated in the meeting.
– .
