Overview
- Analytica reports that smartphone imports rose about 746.6% in the first seven months of 2026, driven by bigger 'puerta a puerta' purchases and the removal of import tariffs in January.
- Domestic production of computing, television and communications equipment fell 25.7% from June to July 2026 and has dropped 44.6% since December 2025, reaching levels comparable to the pandemic lows.
- The tariff change made bringing finished phones into Argentina cheaper than local assembly, prompting retailers to source more completed terminals and reducing orders for domestic assemblers.
- Tierra del Fuego, long the center of Argentina's electronics assembly, has seen registered private employment fall 17.9% since November 2023, and major local producers reported steep output and sales declines.
- The electronics slump helped push the national Industrial Production Index down 5% month‑on‑month in July 2026 and left the subsector roughly 55% below its 2016–2023 average, raising risks to regional jobs and supply‑chain activity unless policy or market conditions change.