“I wouldn’t dare say that there are green shoots,” said Funes de Rioja at the end of the meeting. The Chief of Staff also requested a regime to encourage investments of less than $200 million.
The executive committee of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) met this Tuesday with the new Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos. with its president Daniel Funes from Rioja At the head, the industrialists transmitted a detailed diagnosis of the harsh crisis that the sector is going through that for now it does not visualize “green shoots”. They asked for measures for the micro, to level the field to open the competition and brought the idea of a “SME law”. They also put a magnifying glass on the dollar and the changes in the RIGI.
Just 24 hours after formally assuming office, Francos visited the headquarters of the most important manufacturing entity in the country. Funes de Rioja took it as a positive gesture in the midst of an economic contraction that is hitting the industry hard with drops of between 20% and 45% depending on the sector.
The bottom of the crisis and the speed of recovery have a reserved forecast for now. “I wouldn’t dare say that there are green shoots,” said Funes de Rioja during a press conference after the meeting. Along these lines, he highlighted the Government’s search for macroeconomic balance but maintained that the micro reality must be addressed so that companies do not fail: “without micro, there is no macro”he synthesized.
The leader once again put on the table the issue of fiscal pressure, which is a historical claim of the UIA and which according to the entity’s data reaches 50% in total for the formal sector. “We want to compete locally and internationally, but we have to level the playing field”said.
Support for the law bases and objections by the RIGI
Franco took away from the meeting a strong support of the entity for the basic bill, especially for its labor chapter. Regarding the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI), there are still nuances. Industrialists want to see how the fine print looks and above all if the changes that are introduced guarantee that there are no “distorting factors” that harm local manufacturers such as the exemption from the country tax.
The president of the UIA also told him that they are preparing a draft “SME law”, which, among other things, also promotes investments of less than US$200 million: “There is a lot of will to invest in Argentina, but the conditions must be created”said.
On a day in which parallel dollars jumped again, there were no specific requests from the UIA about the level of the exchange rate, although the entity does consider it key “avoid volatility” and they point to other ways to improve competitiveness such as lowering withholdings or adding refunds for new exports.
In the Argentine Industrial Union they do not believe that the Government has a special animosity towards the sector, something that other entities point out. Funes de Rioja said that to go from being the country of opportunities to the country of realities, Argentina needs a stable macroeconomy. “It’s like taking antibiotics, you have to take the medication even if it has side effects,” he concluded.
Source: Ambito
