Covid-19: Latin American nations scrap duties on Indian respiratory devices

Latin American countries, including Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, have scrapped import duties on some respiratory equipment from India as a temporary trade-relief measure to fight Covid-19, engineering exports body EEPC India said.

A group, which includes Colombia, Paraguay and Ecuador, has also scrapped import duties on medical equipment such as gas masks and oxygen therapy devices, EEPC said on Friday, Reuters reported.

The Brazilian government published a resolution eliminating import taxes on 141 medical products and hospital equipment, including ultrasound machines, tracheostomy kits and laryngeal airway masks and ventilators made in any country.

The decision by the foreign trade chamber Camex raises to 313 the number of products with zeroed import taxes to help fight the coronavirus epidemic.

In Colombia, the government removed tariffs on medical equipment needed to fight respiratory diseases in late March, a move it said would allow the health system to adequately treat the population.

On Wednesday, the government also relaxed rules for buying medical equipment - including oxygen tanks and ventilators, among others - on the international market.