Overview

• Martín Rappallini reported a 1.2% decline in industrial output in June and expects July to stagnate, signaling growing suspensions and layoffs.
• He cautioned that macroeconomic stability alone fails to shield firms from higher costs under trade opening and endangers jobs.
• Rappallini highlighted Argentina’s low private-sector dynamism, with just 6 million formal jobs versus roughly 25 million in South Korea, and no net job or firm growth in 15 years.
• While praising the recent drop in inflation under President Milei, he insisted that structural cuts in labor costs and taxes are indispensable for competitiveness.
• The UIA plans to present its ‘contrato productivo’ on Sept. 2 in Córdoba and is pressing the government for targeted credit lines, stable rates and tighter trade rules.