I don't disagree. We have custom furniture in our living room and they did a very nice job on it and the quality vs price ration was wonderful.
That being said, I think that's generally the exception.
I'm not talking about inexpensive items and bitching b/c Zara is more expensive here than in the US. I'm talking about the fact that we have bought FOUR water pumps in the last 2 years b/c they keep breaking (and yes, getting repaired). I'm talking about the fact that my washing machine which cost more than I would have paid in the US in dollar terms (and it's a hell of a lot more since I don't earn in dollars) has broken 4 times? 5 times? and now needs a new motor. It's 6 years old. I'm talking about the jacket I saw in Vitamina yesterday for 3000 pesos - not inexpensive by any means - with a button hanging off and loose threads. The others had similar issues.
Again, I have no issue spending money on good quality items that will last. I love that you can find artisan work here that is beautifully done and not outrageously expensive. But sometimes I just want to buy a shirt at the mall that will last and doesn't cost 500 pesos. And if I buy something expensive like a washing machine or a ??, it would be nice to have the expectation it will work.
I think there are a couple of issues here.
First- there are some products today that simply require being manufactured in large, expensive factories, with expensive tools, and that requires volume.
Washing machines are one of those- the good Korean machines these days use Integrated circuits that are designed specifically for that washing machine, by another branch of the Chaebol, as well as custom built motors, switches, and other parts. One part of Samsung might be an electronics manufacturing company, another a motor factory, and they both feed parts designed by Samsung, and not sold to any competitors.
So, Samsung can sell a modern, reliable washer for a price that is simply impossible for a small argentine company to come anywhere near. Hence, Industria Argentina is still making 50 year old designs.
Samsung sells worldwide, their market, volume, and per part costs are global.
The reason a Samsung is so expensive here is duty, Argentine government restrictions, and fees.
Remember though, that in the USA, a top of the line Samsung is still not cheap- a Samsung Washer and Dryer can easily run you $2300 USD for the pair, thats something like 28000 pesos.
An average lavarropas on Mercado Libre is more like 5000 pesos- so the good ones are at least twice or three times more than the crummy ones sold here, even WITHOUT duties and taxes.
So- its pretty impossible that a small Argentine company could make electronics, or cars, or appliances, that competed on quality and price with the chinese or japanese or koreans, or american companies that source and manufacture globally.
The only way you will get cheap Iphones or Samsung or LG washers, is if the Argentine government lets companies import them.
Many other things, though, can and do get made here for reasonable prices.
I work in my metalworking shop most days.
I wear work clothes.
In the USA, a pair of Carhartt pants costs between $40 and $60 for the ones I wear - at least 500 pesos. In Argentina, I buy work clothes that are industria argentina, of about half that price, and they last me years in the shop.
Same thing with work shirts- I buy Pampero or other Argentine brand cotton work shirts, for around half the price I pay in the USA for similar quality shirts.
So I buy in Argentina, and take em home.
I also go to Once, and buy underwear, socks, and undershirts, for 1/3 to 1/2 the price I pay in the USA, and I have no problem with the quality- I have argentine underwear that is lasting the exact same amount of time as chinese made, US sold stuff, but I pay much less. I go to Once, I must buy a minimum of 500 pesos worth at a time, but I save money, and, frankly, like the choices and styles better here.
I have higher fashion argentine clothes that I also paid about 1/2 of what it would cost in the USA, which last for years- as a man, I dont go to Vitamina, but I have clothes from places like Hermanos Estebecorena that are well made, one vest I have been wearing for 7 years now- and it cost FAR less than it would in the US. I have been buying extra wide wale corduroy pants from a little designer in Avenida 5 on Santa Fe, again, great quality, cheap price, compared to US. I continually find designers here doing good stuff. And shoes- sorry, argentine shoes are dirt cheap. The same quality of shoes in the US are easily double, often more. I have hand made carpincho desert boots that cost me a bit over a hundred dollars, and in the US, they would be triple that for mass produced. Hand made to order shoes in the USA or Europe these days start at around 3000 dollars or Euros. In Buenos Aires, Correa will make them for maybe 2000 pesos and up, depending on design.
In category after category, there is quality Industria Argentina stuff. You have to look for it, and its more expensive, but its out there.
If import restrictions were lifted, you would see a flood of cheaper low end chinese things, and higher priced, but higher quality, things like washers and stereos and phones and TVs.
I dont think it would be so bad.
If I was running the government, I would still try to protect certain domestic industries with targeted duties, like agricultural machinery, but I think the average argentine would benefit more from the government trying to increase exports beyond just soy beans and oil.
