SEZs, manufacturing and foreign trade: the non-oil economy under the microscope
SEZs, manufacturing, foreign trade and telecommunications. The non-oil economy under the microscope.
BCV: 451 Bs/USD · Parallel: ~560-650 Bs · Inflation: 618% annually · Labor cost: $150-200/month per operator (lowest in the Western Hemisphere) · 69.5% of the population earns less than $300/month — the domestic market cannot absorb production at international prices. The opportunity lies in exports.
Local raw materials (Agriculture · fisheries · manufacturing) → Processing in SEZ (100% ISLR reimbursement · 6 years) → Port of departure (50% reduction in port costs)
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FURTHER READING
04GL 61A — Supply of Certain Items and Services to Venezuela Related to Telecommunications
Authorizes transactions prohibited by the VSR — including those involving the Government of Venezuela, CONATEL, and CANTV — that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the provision from the United States or by a U.S. person of goods, technology, software, or services for the installation, maintenance, refurbishment, repair, upgrade, operation, or support of telecommunications in Venezuela. Telecommunications is defined broadly: data, telephone, internet connectivity, radio, television, news wire feeds, and similar services, regardless of the medium of transmission, including satellite and submarine cables. As of August 27, 2026, the contract with the Government must only route disputes to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, or Singapore; it no longer needs to be governed by U.S. law. Reporting to the Department of State ten days after the first transaction and every 90 days thereafter remains. No expiration date. Supersedes GL 61.
Venezuela productive sector August 2026: the gateway waits on paperwork, not on construction
The Maiquetía terminal opening set for August 24 did not happen and that day's drill closed with no date. The September 1 in circulation sits in reservation systems, not in an official act: what is missing is slot assignment, and United already moved its route to January 2027.
Delcy Rodríguez sets a year-end deadline for the law opening Corpoelec's power grid to private companies
The bill letting private companies into generation, transmission and distribution has been waiting for its second reading since June 2. Before the country's largest business federation, the acting president said it will pass before the year is out.
Petrodelta and Cabimas: two displaced partners in Venezuela and one treaty left
Pacific Coast Energy already runs the fields of two joint ventures whose private partners say they still hold their 40%. What each can claim outside Venezuela turns on its company’s nationality: the Dutch one lost its treaty protection in 2023; the Spanish one keeps it, with ownership that will be hard to prove.
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