Planning misery II: Argentina without science or technology

Planning misery II: Argentina without science or technology

In the Section IV regulates Article 190: “Imports of new capital goods, spare parts, components and consumer goods, as well as temporary imports made by the VPU adhering to the RIGI, will be subject to exempt from import duties, from the statistical and destination verification tax, and from any system of perception, collection, advance or retention of national and/or local taxes”.

Continuing with the topic of suppliers, only with “a commitment with the character of a DDJJ”. Far from international practices in terms of supplier development.

A second point that is added, and it is interesting to analyze it, is the “exchange rate”, in Article 193: “The VPUs adhering to the RIGI may freely import and export goods for the construction, operation and development of said Adhered Projectwithout any direct prohibitions or restrictions, quantitative restrictions, quotas or quotas of any kind, or qualitative restrictions of an economic nature, being able to be applied to them. Official prices or any other official measure that alters the value of imported goods may not be applied to them. or exported, nor supply priorities to the domestic market, even when these are provided for in the legislation in force at the date of accession and unless they are expressly and specifically included in the approval of the application authority for accession and the investment plan submitted. The supplier may import without generating any other type of linkage or chain, it is not necessary, in such case it may import a good and re-export it.

According to Milei and Macri, this “returns the Argentine Republic’s competitiveness as an investment destination, seriously affecting the possibilities of the investments in question.” This meeting is false, it demonstrates the precariousness of the theory on economics and statistics handled by the Ministry of Economy and the Casa Rosada.

According to ECLAC data on FDI, published annually, it is shown that of all the investment flows around the globe, 5% go to South America, concentrated in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Peru. If we add Mexico, the difference would not be substantial. The bulk of the investment flow is in the northern hemisphere: the US, EU and Asia.

The FDI-ECLAC 2024 report concludes: “The observations raised are confirmed when looking at FDI from the perspective of its sectoral destination. Services maintained their leadership in the region as a whole in 2023, despite the drop in inflows into that sector compared to 2022. FDI in manufacturing ranks second, but increased significantly in Mexico and Central America. The latter could be evidence that the interest of multinational companies in installing manufacturing capacities in countries close to the United States —with lower labor costs and, possibly, lower risks of facing barriers associated with geopolitical rivalries— is present, even when nearby relocation is not verified in the aggregate volume of FDI.

And he adds: “Brazil, on the other hand, which has traditionally been a major recipient of manufacturing FDI, saw such investment fall significantly. This could be the result of movements in opposite directions, of deindustrialization in some countries and greater insertion in manufacturing value chains in others. Thus, Mexico stands out in terms of FDI inflows in manufacturing (almost half of total manufacturing inflows in Latin America and the Caribbean), while Brazil stands out in natural resources (more than a third of FDI in natural resources in the region).)”.

These trends confirm processes that have been visible since the 1990s, redefining the productive structures of the two largest economies in the region.

In addition, the report points out a less favorable aspect: that the concentration in markets and the control of natural resources by multinational companies could generate market power that limits the negotiating capacity of governments with these companies. There will not be more “investments” than the traditional ones, and perhaps encouraged by Lithium or dead cow, but it will not change the trends of the processes initiated in the nineties. The average profitability in the region has been stagnant at 6% for three years. This Decree 749/2024 protects investment, Chapter X, jurisdiction and arbitrationIf the parties are unable to resolve the dispute within the established time limits, the ICSID arbitration manual will be followed.

The sectors detected by the RIGI are the Forest Industry, Tourism, Infrastructure, Mining, TechnologySteel, Energy, Oil and Gas. The Technology sector is the activities whose main objective is the production of technological goods and servicesboth in its basic and applied aspects, of an innovative nature, in: biotechnology, nanotechnology, mobility based on new motorization technologies and energy transition technologies, aerospace and satellite industry, nuclear industry, software industry, robotics industry, artificial intelligence, arms and defense industry. This is the only detail provided in the published decree.

Obviously this must be complemented with the role of the supplier in the VPU and the free commercialization of imported and exported products that will threaten the development of the scientific-university system and the productive sector. Which had ample demonstration of generating socio-productive solutions: Development of a mammogram unique optical in the world; A product that removes glyphosate from water and food; They create the vaccine “Arvac Cecilia Grierson” against the coronavirus; Progress in the creation of a Chagas vaccine; He Tronador II satellite launcher It would be ready in 2029, but two more will be sent before then; First intestine transplant in asystole worldwide carried out in Spain; They develop a probiotic yogurt which strengthens the immune system and prevents intestinal and respiratory diseases; Cancer: A company was founded that will develop a treatment to combat the disease; Diabetes: They design a therapy to recover kidney function; and they develop a method of early detection for the Human Papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer.

Given this panorama of progress and development that the national economy has been experiencing, this week the closure of the scientific and technological system was confirmed in order to adjust universities and their productive capacities, which in many cases allows for a virtuous exchange of knowledge and scientific-socio-productive development. The president of the i+d+i Agency, Alicia Caballero, an economist at the UCA, met with the authorities of the CIN. It was reported that:

1. Only what is already signed will be paid, which does not include PICT 2022;

2. The current best budget clause (BBM) in the PICT is valid, but will not be fulfilled due to lack of funds;

3. There will be no call for applications this year because there are no funds available;

4. Regarding the year 2025, it will be decided according to the availability of funds.

Scientific and Technological Research Projects (PICT), It aims to generate new knowledge in all areas of S&TThis budgetary adjustment policy decided by Milei and supported by Macri, annihilates the scientific development of our country. Milei and Caballero confirm that this year the system for promoting science, technology and innovation will not receive any additional or new pesos, dollars, new scholarships, new equipment or new projects.

They carried out the elimination of the National Teacher Incentive Fund (FONID) which, although it affects all teaching, has a strong impact on this sector (Goldenstein Khalif). The only thing new in the Agency is its president and her salary. The normalization has not yet been completed because the board of directors has not been formed. The Agency supports more than 7,000 projects, involving 30,000 researchers, The vast majority researches in hard sciences and a quarter comes from the social sciencesof more than 100 institutions and universities and 1,200 scholarship holders, as well as SMEs and innovation and technological development projects (Peirano, 2019-2023, i+D+I Agency).

The result of not having scientific production with a socio-productive orientation is that science and solutions will be imported from other places: the US, the EU or China.

Source: Ambito

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