LAND-LOCKED STATES VS. TRANSIT STATES: ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL CARGO RESERVE IN THE RIVER TRANSPORT AGREEMENT FOR THE PARAGUAY-PARANÁ WATERWAY FROM THE ARGENTINEAN AND PARAGUAYAN PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has contributed to the establishment of a fair and equitable international economic order to bring the interests and needs of humanity into line with those of developing countries, whether coastal or landlocked. A signatory of UNCLOS, Paraguay, Landlock States (LLS), projects itself in international trade through inland navigation, with the collaboration of Argentina, State of Transit and predominantly through the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway. The River Transport Agreement for the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway is the normative instrument that guides the route and provides for the elimination of the national cargo reserve, in order to strengthen the waterway's regional flags. Conflicting interests between Argentina and Paraguay have generated different interpretations on the adopted national cargo reserve and, consequently, on the effectiveness of the Agreement signed on the basis of the Law of the Sea. In this context, and based on a review of international, regional and national literature on the Law of the Sea and River Law, applied to landlocked countries, the article intends to analyze the impact of the national cargo reserve provided for in the River Transport Agreement by the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway in the river-maritime trade of Paraguay and Argentina. The survey results indicate the need for a new legal framework and the importance of diplomacy to conform the interests of those countries in waterway navigation.