Government's foreign exchange controls hit car manufacturers

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Many foreign car manufacturers with plants in Venezuela have been forced to stop production over the past few days due to the lack of foreign currency needed to buy in vital parts to continue the assembly of vehicles as the Currency Administration Commission (Cadivi) still hasn't made foreign currencies available after nearly seven weeks of trading suspension. 

• General Motors has already been forced to halt operations and Ford Motors and Toyota are expected to follow suit over the next few weeks if dollars are not made available soon. 

The sector has been hit hard over the past few months with economic woes and the two month long opposition work stoppage taking a serious toll on sales.

Opposition leaders have widely criticized the controls, stating that they will force many Venezuelan businesses to close, but the government insists that they are necessary to protect international reserves.