Around 400 small-scale carriers operating along the Paraguay-Brazil border could be left out of the cross-border transport system when the new bilateral protocol, to be signed by the two countries in the coming days, takes effect. The agreement includes an adjustment period running through November 1, 2026.
The sector, which handles roughly US$10 million a year, reacted with concern to the new requirements. The N1 category, which currently allows operators to run vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes, will be eliminated, automatically excluding around 80 owners of vans, minibuses, and small trucks that handle smaller shipments at the border.
Operators classified under the N2 category, with a capacity between 3.5 and 12 tonnes, will also face new obligations. These include the International Cargo Manifest and Customs Transit Declaration (MIC/DTA) and the International Road Transport Document (CRT), documents that cost around G. 450,000 per operation.
Ever Rodríguez, a representative of the Asociación de Transportistas Internacional de Cargas de Ciudad del Este, criticized the fact that small carriers are required to pay the same amount as a large truck to transport considerably smaller loads. He noted that the cost of documentation exceeds the average freight value, currently around G. 250,000. Until now, these operators were exempt from using the MIC/DTA and CRT because they did not exceed the 3,500-kilogram cargo limit.
Rodríguez said the sector was disadvantaged during the negotiations and warned that if customs authorities do not reduce the fees, many workers will lose competitiveness and be pushed out of the market.
The new protocol establishes that only N2-category vehicles, with a gross weight above 3.5 tonnes and up to 12 tonnes, will be allowed to operate. Carriers must be legally incorporated in their respective countries, prove residence in the border zone, and hold the corresponding licenses. The regulation also requires a minimum fleet of three authorized vehicles in the first year of enforcement and four units from the second year onward, with at least one belonging to the authorized carrier itself.
In addition, operators will have to take out international insurance policies, appoint legal representatives in the country where they conduct their activities, and hold the Vehicle Technical Inspection Certificate (CITV). Another planned change is the mandatory use of the Ponte da Integrada for these vehicles entering Brazil.
Celso Callegario, president of the Sindicato de Transportes de Carreteras de Foz de Iguazú y Região (Sindifoz), supported the implementation of the new rules, stating that they will ensure greater legal security, better controls, and fair competition conditions between Paraguayan and Brazilian carriers. He emphasized that the regulation will help strengthen oversight, combat illicit activities, and improve vehicle safety, since in recent years vehicles have been found carrying loads far exceeding permitted limits.
The Brazilian union also highlighted that the new rules will open the market to companies from Brazil that until now had been unable to participate in a segment dominated almost exclusively by Paraguayan operators.