Overview

• Argentina’s main industry group launched its ten-point blueprint at the 17th Córdoba Industry Colloquium on the Día de la Industria, with Chief of Cabinet Guillermo Francos representing the national government.
• The document, endorsed by roughly 80 regional and sectoral bodies including the Unión Industrial de Salta, sets priorities such as cheaper credit, tax changes, labor modernization, infrastructure investment, export incentives, and controls against unfair competition.
• UIA leaders warned that very high borrowing costs and a fast import opening are holding back investment and hurting value chains, and they pressed for an active state role to level the playing field.
• Fresh figures underscored the slump, with industrial capacity use at 58.8% in June and about 39,000 registered factory jobs lost since November 2023, while CSIRA cited broader job losses across industry, construction and mining.
• With markets volatile after a Treasury decision to intervene in the dollar market, Francos said the administration anticipated turbulence and signaled it heard industrial demands, pointing to reforms the government aims to pursue in a second phase.