Argentina
1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment
Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment
The Government of Argentina has identified its top economic priorities as resolving its burdensome sovereign debt situation and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly by protecting vulnerable members of society. When the Fernandez administration took office in late 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Worship became the lead governmental entity for investment promotion. The Fernandez administration does not have a formal business roundtable or other dialogue established with international investors, although it does engage with domestic and international companies.
Some of the former Macri administration’s efforts to improve the investment climate had included reforms to simplify bureaucratic procedures in an effort to provide more transparency, reduce costs, and diminish economic distortions by adopting good regulatory practices. Many of the planned public-private partnership projects for public infrastructure were delayed or canceled due to Argentina’s macroeconomic difficulties, as well as allegations of corruption in public works projects during the 2003-2015 period. The Macri administration also had expanded economic and commercial cooperation with key partners, including Chile, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Canada, and the United States, and deepened its engagement in international fora such as the G-20, the WTO, and the OECD.
Foreign and domestic investors generally compete under the same conditions in Argentina. The amount of foreign investment is restricted in specific, sectors such as aviation and media. Foreign ownership of rural productive lands, bodies of water, and areas along borders is also restricted.
Argentina has a national Investment and Trade Promotion Agency that provides information and consultation services to investors and traders on economic and financial conditions, investment opportunities, and Argentine laws and regulations. The agency also provides matchmaking services and organizes roadshows and trade delegations. Upon the change of administration, the government placed the Agency under the direction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to improve coordination between the Agency and Argentina´s foreign policy. The Under Secretary for Trade and Investment Promotion of the MFA works as a liaison between the Agency and provincial governments and regional organizations. The new administration also created the National Directorate for Investment Promotion under the Under Secretary for Trade and Investment Promotion, making the Directorate responsible for promoting Argentina as an investment destination. The Directorate´s mission also includes determining priority sectors and projects and helping Argentine companies expand internationally and/or attract international investment.
The agency’s web portal provides information on available services (https://www.inversionycomercio.org.ar/es/home ) Many of the 24 provinces also have their own provincial investment and trade promotion offices.
Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment
Foreign and domestic commercial entities in Argentina are regulated by the Commercial Partnerships Law (Law 19,550), the Argentina Civil and Commercial Code, and rules issued by the regulatory agencies. Foreign private entities can establish and own business enterprises and engage in all forms of remunerative activity in nearly all sectors.
Full foreign equity ownership of Argentine businesses is not restricted, for the most part, with exception in the air transportation and media industries. The share of foreign capital in companies that provide commercial passenger transportation within the Argentine territory is limited to 49 percent per the Aeronautic Code Law 17,285. The company must be incorporated according to Argentine law and domiciled in Buenos Aires. In the media sector, Law 25,750 establishes a limit on foreign ownership in television, radio, newspapers, journals, magazines, and publishing companies to 30 percent.
Law 26,737 (Regime for Protection of National Domain over Ownership, Possession or Tenure of Rural Land) establishes that a foreigner cannot own land that allows for the extension of existing bodies of water or that are located near a Border Security Zone. In February 2012, the government issued Decree 274/2012 further restricting foreign ownership to a maximum of 30 percent of national land and 15 percent of productive land. Foreign individuals or foreign company ownership is limited to 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) in the most productive farming areas. In June 2016, the Government of Argentina issued Decree 820 easing the requirements for foreign land ownership by changing the percentage that defines foreign ownership of a person or company, raising it from 25 percent to 51 percent of the social capital of a legal entity. Waivers are not available.
Argentina does not maintain an investment screening mechanism for inbound foreign investment. U.S. investors are not at a disadvantage to other foreign investors or singled out for discriminatory treatment.
Other Investment Policy Reviews
Argentina was last subject to an investment policy review by the OECD in 1997 and a trade policy review by the WTO in 2013. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has not done an investment policy review of Argentina.
Business Facilitation
In 2019, stemming from the country’s deteriorating financial and economic situation, the Argentine government re-imposed capital controls on business and consumers, limiting their access to foreign exchange. The capital controls and increases in taxes on exports and imports the Argentine government instituted at the end of 2019 have generated uncertainty in the business climate.
The Ministry of Production eased bureaucratic hurdles for foreign trade through the creation of a Single Window for Foreign Trade (“VUCE” for its Spanish acronym) in 2016. The VUCE centralizes the administration of all required paperwork for the import, export, and transit of goods (e.g., certificates, permits, licenses, and other authorizations and documents). The Argentine government has not fully implemented the VUCE for use across the country. Argentina subjects imports to automatic or non-automatic licenses that are managed through the Comprehensive Import Monitoring System (SIMI, or Sistema Integral de Monitoreo de Importaciones), established in December 2015 by the National Tax Agency (AFIP by its Spanish acronym) through Resolutions 5/2015 and 3823/2015. The SIMI system requires importers to submit detailed information electronically about goods to be imported into Argentina. Once the information is submitted, the relevant Argentine government agencies can review the application through the VUCE and make any observations or request additional information. The list of products subject to non-automatic licensing has been modified several times since the beginning of the SIMI system. In January 2020, the government moved 300 tariff lines from the automatic import licensing system to the non-automatic import licensing system.
The Argentine Congress approved an Entrepreneurs’ Law in March 2017, which allows for the creation of a simplified joint-stock company (SAS, or Sociedad por Acciones Simplifacada) online within 24 hours of registration. Detailed information on how to register a SAS is available at: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/produccion/crear-una-empresaAs of April 2019, the online business registration process is only available for companies located in Buenos Aires.
Foreign investors seeking to set up business operations in Argentina follow the same procedures as domestic entities without prior approval and under the same conditions as local investors. To open a local branch of a foreign company in Argentina, the parent company must be legally registered in Argentina. Argentine law requires at least two equity holders, with the minority equity holder maintaining at least a five percent interest. In addition to the procedures required of a domestic company, a foreign company establishing itself in Argentina must legalize the parent company’s documents, register the incoming foreign capital with the Argentine Central Bank, and obtain a trading license.
A company must register its name with the Office of Corporations (IGJ, or Inspeccion General de Justicia). The IGJ website describes the registration process and some portions can be completed online (https://www.argentina.gob.ar/justicia/igj/guia-de-tramites ). Once the IGJ registers the company, the company must request that the College of Public Notaries submit the company’s accounting books to be certified with the IGJ. The company’s legal representative must obtain a tax identification number from AFIP, register for social security, and obtain blank receipts from another agency. Companies can register with AFIP online at www.afip.gob.ar or by submitting the sworn affidavit form No. 885 to AFIP.
Details on how to register a company can be found at the Ministry of Productive Development’s website: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/produccion/crear-una-empresa . Instructions on how to obtain a tax identification code can be found at: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/obtener-el-cuit-por-internet.
The enterprise must also provide workers’ compensation insurance for its employees through the Workers’ Compensation Agency (ART, or Aseguradora de Riesgos del Trabajo). The company must register and certify its accounting of wages and salaries with the Secretariat of Labor, within the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security.
In April 2016, the Small Business Administration of the United States and the Ministry of Production of Argentina signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to set up small and medium sized business development centers (SBDCs) in Argentina. Under the MOU, in June 2017, Argentina set up a SBDC in the province of Neuqueén to provide small businesses with tools to improve their productivity and increase their growth.
The Ministry of Productive Development offers attendance-based courses and online training for businesses. The training menu can be viewed at: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/produccion/capacitacion .
Outward Investment
The National Directorate for Investment Promotion under the Under Secretary for Trade and Investment Promotion at the MFA assists Argentine companies in expanding their business overseas, in coordination with the National Investment and Trade Promotion Agency. Argentina does not have any restrictions regarding domestic entities investing overseas, nor does it incentivize outward investment.
13. Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment Statistics
Host Country Statistical source* | USG or international statistical source | USG or International Source of Data: BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, Other |
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Economic Data | Year | Amount | Year | Amount | |
Host Country Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ($M USD) | N/A | N/A | 2019 | $432,241 | www.worldbank.org/en/country |
Foreign Direct Investment | Host Country Statistical source | USG or international statistical source | USG or international Source of data: BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, Other |
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U.S. FDI in partner country ($M USD, stock positions) | N/A | N/A | 2018 | $15,196 | BEA data available at https://www.bea.gov/international/ direct-investment-and-multinational- enterprises-comprehensive-data |
Host country’s FDI in the United States ($M USD, stock positions) | N/A | N/A | 2018 | $901 | BEA data available at https://www.bea.gov/international/ direct-investment-and-multinational- enterprises-comprehensive-data |
Total inbound stock of FDI as % host GDP | N/A | N/A | 2018 | 14% | UNCTAD data available at https://unctad.org/en/Pages/DIAE/ World%20Investment%20Report/ Country-Fact-Sheets.aspx |
Direct Investment from/in Counterpart Economy Data | |||||
From Top Five Sources/To Top Five Destinations (US Dollars, Millions) | |||||
Inward Direct Investment | Outward Direct Investment | ||||
Total Inward | 72,572 | 100% | Total Outward | 28,686 | 100% |
United States | 20,906 | 29% | Uruguay | 15,894 | 55% |
Spain | 11,954 | 16% | United States | 6,209 | 22% |
The Netherlands | 6.805 | 9% | Mexico | 1,405 | 5% |
Brazil | 4,059 | 6% | Brazil | 1,113 | 4% |
Uruguay | 3,916 | 5% | Chile | 754 | 3% |
“0” reflects amounts rounded to +/- USD 500,000. |
Table 4: Sources of Portfolio Investment
Data not available.