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Argentina Permanently Cuts Export Duties on Key Agroexports

Independent estimates put the revenue loss near 0.1% of GDP after partial offsets through higher income‑tax collections.

Overview

  • Economy Minister Luis Caputo set new permanent rates: soybeans 24% (from 26%), soy by‑products 22.5% (from 24.5%), wheat and barley 7.5% (from 9.5%), corn and sorghum 8.5% (from 9.5%), and sunflower 4.5% (from 5.5%).
  • Iaraf estimates a direct fiscal cost of about US$570 million, falling to roughly US$520 million (around 0.08% of GDP) when considering higher income‑tax receipts, with provinces and CABA sharing an estimated US$66 million through revenue‑sharing.
  • Consultancies LCG and CEPA separately put the impact at about 0.1% of GDP, aligning on a small but measurable hit to federal revenue.
  • Regional grain and commodity exchanges welcomed the move as a step toward eliminating export duties and improving competitiveness, noting soybean duty rates are at their lowest in nearly 19 years.
  • Opposition voices and analysts criticized the distributional effects and fiscal trade‑offs, with CEPA’s Julia Strada highlighting roughly US$500 million in foregone revenue and contrasting it with public spending needs; beef exports were not included in the cuts.