Overview
- Effective January 15, the import duty on cellphones falls to 0% under Decree 333/25, completing a schedule that cut the rate from 16% to 8% last May.
- Officials project price drops of up to 30%, while market estimates range closer to 10–25% and suggest the impact will appear over the coming weeks as new stock arrives.
- Pass-through is tempered by a 21% VAT, residual internal taxes (such as a 9.5% levy on some imports), logistics and financing costs, retailer strategies and a sizable contraband market.
- The tariff removal is part of a broader package that also scrapped internal taxes on Tierra del Fuego–made phones, TVs and air conditioners and reduced levies on imported TVs and game consoles.
- Producers and the UOM in Río Grande warn the policy threatens competitiveness and about 8,500 electronics jobs in Tierra del Fuego, a province heavily dependent on the sector.