Stop on Imports...

[jaredwb]

Every rich Argentine I know shops in Miami once a year. None of them would be stupid enough (or have the need) to pay these absurd, extortion prices for so called "luxury" items! This policy only hurts the (for all practical purposes) "middle class who struggle to try to just put food on the table...sure...computers are luxury items...really?

Oh...of course, it makes those who can afford those items even more of a target for thieves since those items are so expensive (watch that iPhone, iPod, digital camera, etc)!

That goes for the rich...tourists...and expats as well!

No shit, right?? I bought a Dell computer in the U.S. for $350 usd during the Christmas sales (clearly a "luxury" item)...here the same computer is $850 usd...CRAZY

I don't even wear a watch anymore when I go out.

 

[PhilipDT]

Yes...they really want to keep this a 3rd world country...of course, the rich (ruling class) have NO PROBLEM with this as it doesn't affect them at all.

The irony of course is that it's always the populist working class political organizations that are doing the most to keep this a 3rd world country.

 

[John.St]

It does have it's reasons.

Argentina is in serious need of foreign currency, and last year exports grew by 21 percent - but imports by grew by 46 percent. Argentina still has a trade surplus but for how long?

I doubt, however, that neither tariffs nor outright import restrictions (both of which can be duplicated by trade partners to a stalemate) will do the trick.

 

[gouchobob]

It does have it's reasons.

Argentina is in serious need of foreign currency, and last year exports grew by 21 percent - but imports by grew by 46 percent. Argentina still has a trade surplus but for how long?

I doubt, however, that neither tariffs nor outright import restrictions (both of which can be duplicated by trade partners to a stale mate) will do the trick.

I agree the history of countries that try this formula is that imports actually increase overtime. Of course this sounds good to your supporters if you are courting labor unions in an election year.

 

[ellbee]

stupid move (as usual) from argentina...oh , when will this country ever learn!

get ready to have your house wiped out by robbers...or your hand cut off while talking on your phone or checking your watch.

maybe i should start putting my credit card between my butt cheeks. its a hard place to find it in case i get robbed. HAHA!

 

[ben]

Any stats or impressions on the size / situation of the market regarding imports that attempt to, shall we say, sidestep these restrictions?

 

[starlucia]

If you're a big foodie/cook like I, you just have to deal with the fact that many fine ingredients simply do not exist here, at least in a market accessible by consumers. The things that do exist are often absurdly expensive.

Meanwhile, here I sit in the States, eating an organic pear from Argentina that I purchased at Whole Foods for $1.69/lb. What is that stat -- Argentina is the world's 3rd-largest producer of organics, yet less than 5% is consumed within the country? You just can't win -- the good foreign stuff is kept out, the good domestic stuff is exported out, and Argentines are left eating cheap-quality, genetically-modified everything. I feel like saying, "NO, there's not an equivalent to my Vieja Fabrica preserves from Spain, since I have yet to find a domestic brand free of high-fructose corn syrup or creepy additives."

I wonder how this law will affect the 'specialty' items that don't seem to have an Argentine equivalent. At New Garden, many of the spices and dried beans come from other countries, yet are still relatively cheap. I'm hoping that they'll be safe since I doubt Argentina even produces turmeric, cumin, black sesame, or basmati rice?