Buenos Aires Herald 
Argentina will cut export duties on 88% of industrial products, Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced in an X post on Wednesday evening. The move aims to remove barriers to sales abroad for these products, which in 2024 amounted to US$3.8 billion.
The cut will be made official with a publication in the Official Gazette in the coming days, Caputo added.
“The measure will initially benefit 3,580 companies, almost 40% of those that export in Argentina,” he wrote. It will affect products including agricultural machinery and parts, foundry products, glass, car and motor parts, machinery and equipment, watchmaking, pharmaceutical blood and hormone preparations, pipes, cables, insecticides, cosmetics, plastics, and metals.
“Putting public finances in order makes it possible to keep reducing distortive taxes,” Caputo wrote. “In this sense, in January of 2025, the Economy Ministry’s Industry and Commerce Secretariat eliminated export duties on agroindustrial activities for regional economies and their value chains, including cotton textiles, paper, cardboard, and food and beverages, as well as cutting export duties on the main agricultural products.”
In the government’s view, export duties affect the competitiveness of Argentine companies abroad and dissuade exports.
Export duties will still apply to some common basic input materials such as iron, steel, aluminum, petrochemical products, and certain auto industry materials.
Moreover, President Javier Milei confirmed in mid-April that reductions to export duties on key agricultural products, including soy, wheat, corn, sorghum and barley, were temporary and would rise again in July.
Earlier, the Argentine Industrial Union had announced that it was working with the government to eliminate export duties on products shipped by small and medium-sized companies.
“The improvement in export conditions for SMEs involves removing 3-5% export duties for them, which means a significant improvement in terms of the microeconomy, but a small fiscal impact,” the organization said.
