Chamber of Commerce proposes urgent measures to prevent El Niño damage in Peru

The Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL) has urged the Peruvian government to adopt 12 priority regulatory measures to reduce the social and economic impact of the El Niño phenomenon. The proposals aim to accelerate prevention efforts before the critical rainy season begins.

Drawing on lessons learned from the 2017 El Niño event, the CCL emphasized that acting after an emergency is more costly and less effective. The business group stressed the need for immediate decisions to strengthen prevention, protect the population, and ensure economic activity continuity. Key proposals include preserving liquidity for micro and small businesses (MYPEs) through emergency financial reactivation decrees, offering guarantee lines, and debt rescheduling.

Furthermore, the CCL suggested extraordinary tax facilities for businesses in declared emergency zones. These include deferrals for General Sales Tax (IGV) and Income Tax, special payment plans, and suspension of late payment interest. For infrastructure, the chamber advocated for a simplified emergency public contracting regime for prevention works like river desilting, channeling, and drainage cleaning.

To ensure transparency, the CCL proposed a real-time public dashboard for monitoring funds allocated to combat El Niño, with regular reports to Congress. Measures are also suggested to maintain the continuity of strategic logistics infrastructure, focusing on preventive actions at key ports like Callao, Paita, and Chancay, as well as northern road corridors and airport operations.

Additionally, the proposal includes a temporary regulatory relief and administrative simplification regime for businesses in emergency zones. It also suggests a temporary labor flexibility regime to facilitate agile implementation of remote work during effective activity paralyses. Peruvian authorities recently upgraded their El Niño Coastal forecast from "strong" to "strong and extraordinary" due to an unusual increase in sea temperature along the coast.