Within the framework of a challenging international context for peripheral countries, the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) warned by a growing problem of the sector: Production costs They are located as the main concern, even above the fall in demand.
The data arises from the last industrial survey made by the entity, corresponding to February: 40.6% of the companies surveyed indicated that the costs of producing They are the main problem they face. The rise is significant: it is about 15 points percentage more with respect to the previous report.
Unlike the previous two surveys, this point displaced the fall in demand, which also also entered a better panorama: according to the UIA, this time The expectations for the future were moderatedwith a lower proportion of companies that provide improvements in their Business economic situation (61.7% vs. 67.8% in the previous survey), in their activity sector (58.1% vs. 68.1%) country level (68.6% vs. 75.5%).
Maybe with a hand document, the Minister of Economy Luis Caputo indirectly responded to industrialists in the 6th Investment Forum & Business of Mendoza: “It is true that there are prices that are expensive in dollars, but the Solution is not devaluingas was done for 100 years so that they do not seem so expensive. The solution is that they go down with less taxes and more competition. ”
The UIA has long put the eye on the frame in which The Government promotes commercial competenceand wonders if the current conditions allow to speak in those same terms.
The same marks in this last survey: in the international sphere, the unfair competition was highlighted with a 63.5% of companies which reported negative impacts due to prices of dumping.
In turn, internally, the UIA warns that Companies are limited by evasion and informalitywhere one in three entities claimed to be affected by the smuggling of products.
In that sense, high costs reappear compared to other countries and “consequent sale of imported products at many lower prices“And the tax burden in Argentina, which the entity considers” high “, as explanatory factors of this phenomenon.
For Román GuajardoPresident of the Santa Fe Industrial Federationexpectations with respect to last year They changed.
“The fall in demand continues to worry, but The structure of costs is an issue that all industrialists have altered: Energy, credit interest rates, taxes that have not lowered, virtual wallet commissions, logistics cost and lack of infrastructure make an efficiently manufactured product transform into non -competitive against the same product manufactured in another country, ”describes the industrialist.
The problem occurs in a context where the president of the United States, Donald Trumpannounced the application – and then its postponement – of duty To Mexico, Canada and China. He Asian giantin turn, he replied that he is ready to “any kind of war”For the action of the American president.
For its part, Norberto FedelePresident of the San Martín Industrial Union, warns that the metallurgical sector “is being market run“For the appreciation of the peso, while in Argentina the” most expensive “aluminum is paid with the ton close to US $ 5,000.
A CONTRAMANO: KEYS OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY IN THE WORLD
To dimension the weighting of the industry internationally, the Project ‘Quantifying Industrial Strategies’ (QUIS) measured industrial policy expenses in OECD countries. Countries like Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom voluntarily offered to participate.
The main results are as follows:
- The countries spend 1.4% of GDP on average In industrial policies, with preference for tax expenses, and provide additional 1.8% of GDP through financial instruments.
- Industrial strategies still They are dominated by a sector approachmore than for a “green” component, “jobs and skills” or “SMEs and young companies.”
- There is a significant degree of heterogeneity among countries. Fiscal subsidies and expenses range from 0.6% of GDP in Ireland to 2.3% in the United Kingdom. 34% of subsidies and fiscal expenses are green in Denmark compared to less than 1% in Ireland.
- The Green instruments increased in most countries Between 2019 and 2021 (from 0.22% to 0.24% of GDP, on average) and largely are also specific to sectors or technologies.
- In participating countries, sector support, mainly through grants and fiscal expenses, is mainly directed to the energy, transport and manufacturing.
Do we have an industry?: The weight of the sector in Argentina
On the other hand, the Pyme Observatory Foundationmade an radiography of the Argentine industry to understand its relevant weight in terms of technological development and productive sovereignty. The results were as follows:
- The industry is the Activity of greater weight in the economywith a 19% participation on the total gross added value.
- He sector uses more than 1.2 million registered workers, which represent 19% of the total registered employees of the private sector.
- The salaries are 21% higher than the average of the economy. In addition, 70% of industrial branches have average salaries higher than the average economy.
- The industry has an informal employment rate less than the Private sector average (30.9% vs 43.7%). Also, more than 40% of the branches They have an informality rate less than 20%.
- The sector contributes 30% of the collectionin particular with the income tax that represents 40% of the collection.
- The industry is the sector that invest in innovation within the private sector. The sector investment represents about 55% of the total private investment in research.
Source: Ambito
