U.S.-Argentina Business Council (USABC)

Impuesto PAIS has officially been lowered back to its promised 7.5%. This is great news for the future of trade.

Last week, Neil Herrington, Senior Vice President, Americas, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, led a delegation with members to Argentina, where we met and engaged directly with various Cabinet-level Ministers, ministries, congressional leaders, and government officials on the margins of U.S. Undersecretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose Fernandez’s visit to Argentina✈️. These bilateral meetings provided the space to discuss the priorities of the U.S. private sector in Argentina and delve into policy issues that impact bilateral trade and investment, energy and critical minerals, and innovation. 🤝 On this visit, the U.S. signed the MSP (https://lnkd.in/e-EWVSsF), cementing an important step in the bilateral relationship. Through the Council, we continue to advocate that the U.S. Congress evaluates opportunities to promote resilient critical mineral supply chains and decrease dependence on foreign adversaries; priority should be given to developing partnerships with Argentina and other U.S. allies with significant mineral reserves and sound investment policies in the Western Hemisphere. Although Argentina continues to have capital controls, Milei’s administration has consistently expressed its intention to revoke these controls once the country achieves macroeconomic stabilization. With the recent Ley de Bases and Milei’s firm stance on open markets, economic stabilization seems closer than expected. We thank Guillermo Francos, Pablo Quirno, Daniel Scioli, and Jose W. Fernandez for joining our USABC Business Forum, a premium event that joined together the leading voices of the U.S. and Argentine private sectors. We also extend our gratitude to Diana Mondino, H.E. Federico Sturzenegger, Dr. Juan Pazo, Esteban Marzorati, Daniel González, Vladimir Werning, Gabriel Martinez, Leandro Fernandez-Suarez, Federico Pinedo, Bertie Benegas Lynch, and Silvia Lospennato for sitting down with our member companies to listen to their concerns on the bilateral space. And finally, we praise Marc R. Stanley and the team at the Embajada de los Estados Unidos en Argentina for being the gracious hosts of our reception on the Future of Argentina. The commitment of our member companies to foster a robust economic partnership between the U.S. and Argentina was palpable. A special thank you to our Board Members Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cargill, Excelerate Energy, and Rio Tinto for joining us on this delegation, as well as Cisco, DHL, Dow, General Motors, John Deere, Kimberly-Clark, and Merck. We are excited about the future possibilities this collaboration holds for both nations and the positive steps forward that have been made in the bilateral space.

Thank you to U.S.-Argentina Business Council (USABC) for your tireless work, advocating for stronger business ties between our two great nations. This type of engagement is vital, as the U.S. and its allies in Latin America work to build strong and integrated supply chains that are competitive globally.

Wrapping up Day 2 of our Delegation to Buenos Aires at the Banco Central de la República Argentina, where we met with Vladimir Werning, Vice President of the Central Bank. We also met with Daniel Gonzalez, Acting Secretary of Natural Resources, in the morning. Yesterday’s activities concluded with a reception at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence recognizing the future of the bilateral relationship. Thank you to our members who joined us on this mission, on the margins of U.S. Undersecretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose Fernandez’s visit to Argentina. We look forward to following up on these insightful conversations and continuing to work with both administrations to strengthen the bilateral commercial relationship.

Finishing up the first day of bilateral meetings as part of our 2024 Delegation to Buenos Aires, where we met with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation, as well as the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers. Stay tuned for more highlights from our engagements today, including the USABC Business Forum, an exclusive meeting with the U.S. and Argentine private sectors, featuring U.S. Undersecretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose Fernandez; Dr. Guillermo Francos, Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers; Pablo Quirno, Secretary of Finance, Ministry of Economy; and Daniel Scioli, Secretary of Tourism, Environment and Sports, Ministry of Interior.

Finishing up the first day of bilateral meetings as part of our 2024 Delegation to Buenos Aires, where we met with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation, as well as the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers. Stay tuned for more highlights from our engagements today, including the USABC Business Forum, an exclusive meeting with the U.S. and Argentine private sectors, featuring U.S. Undersecretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose Fernandez; Dr. Guillermo Francos, Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers; Pablo Quirno, Secretary of Finance, Ministry of Economy; and Daniel Scioli, Secretary of Tourism, Environment and Sports, Ministry of Interior.

A través de la Comunicación “A” 8074 del 23 de julio, el Banco Central de la República Argentina avanzó en una flexibilización de los controles de capitales en lo que respecta a los plazos para el pago de importaciones de bienes, el acceso a los dólares financieros para las personas físicas y el monto a cobrar en divisas para las personas físicas que exportan servicios.   Más información: https://lnkd.in/dV2XuFha

In line with our engagement on the critical minerals space, the USABC held a call with representatives from the three provinces making up Argentina’s lithium triangle. We met with Julio Argentino San Millan, Foreign Affairs Representative of Salta; Pablo Palomares, Secretary for Regional Integration and International Relations of Jujuy; and Elena Herrera, Secretary of International Relations of Catamarca. The introductory call allowed for the USABC and the three provinces to share their priorities and highlight opportunities for collaboration both in Argentina and the U.S. In addition to lithium, Argentina’s northwest region has a variety of investment opportunities of interest to the U.S. private sector. We look forwarded to continued engagement with Salta, Jujuy, and Catamarca, and hope to see them at the Chamber during a future visit to Washington DC!

The USABC’s first event of our critical minerals educational campaign was a success! This morning, we were on Capitol Hill to give a briefing to relevant Hill staff and the private sector on Argentina’s critical mineral reserves, and the importance of Argentina as a strategic ally. In addition to a presentation by the USABC, we had an expert panel to outline current opportunities and the outlook of Argentina in the critical minerals space, specifically lithium and copper. Thank you to Paula Uribe of Rio Tinto, Edward Bryztwa of Consumer Technology Association, and Meredith M. Broadbent of Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for your insights and highlights of the most salient issues in Argentina, including critical global supply chains, sustainability, and bilateral trade. We look forward to continuing our engagement on the Hill in this space and spreading the word on why Argentina is the hot topic of the hemisphere for critical minerals and investment opportunity. 

Ahead of our briefing on Capitol Hill on Friday, the USABC met with its Lithium Coalition members to discuss bilateral commercial opportunities in the critical minerals space. Friday’s briefing is the first step of our educational campaign to highlight Argentina’s lithium, copper, and other critical minerals resources. The private sector and expert stakeholders will convene together, touching on topics such as nearshoring, supply chains, and energy. Stay tuned for updates!