Key insights
- Argentina will gradually eliminate export taxes on certain industrial sectors. While this boosts Argentine industry, the impact on US equities is slightly negative. Increased global supply from these sectors could marginally pressure prices and margins for US-based competitors in the automotive, petrochemical, and related industries. The effect is limited due to Argentina's relatively small share of global trade.
May 22 (Reuters) - Argentina will gradually lower its export taxes for certain industrial sectors to zero in the 12 months starting this July, the economy ministry said on Friday.
Taxes on automotive, petrochemical, chemical, rubber and machinery exports, now at 4.5%, will be reduced by 0.375 percentage points each month, the ministry said.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo also announced gradual tax reductions of major agricultural exports on Friday.
Last year, Argentine automobiles made up just over 10% of all exports at $8.78 billion, down 2.5% from the year before, according to the country’s official statistics agency.
The combined oil and petrochemical sectors meanwhile exported $11.77 billion worth of products, representing 13.5% of exports and surging 12.8% from a year earlier.