The Lawyers Associated Worldwide Americas’ Regional Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 10‑12, 2008 included a presentation by Mr. Brian Brisson, the U.S. Commercial Service Commercial Counselor for Argentina and Uruguay.  Following is a summary of his presentation and opportunities in Argentina.

Argentina is a country of 39.5 million people.  Most of the population resides in urban areas.  The country has an extraordinarily high literacy rate of 97%.  Argentina is a federal republic with 23 provinces. 

The United States is Argentina’s second largest trading partner after Brazil.  The principal challenges for Argentina have been to contain inflation after the spike near 20% at the turn of the century, while reducing unemployment and maintaining relatively high economic growth.  Inflation has been stabilized between 7% and 11% while gross domestic product growth was 8.6% in 2007 and forecast at 8.7% for 2008.  Unemployment has decreased from 21.5% in 2002 to 8.8% during the third quarter of 2007.  Further declines in unemployment are forecast for 2008. 

U.S. exports to Argentina total approximately $5 billion during 2007.  Products exported to Argentina are subject to tariffs of approximately 13% and goods exported for resale face an additional value added tax of up to 21% depending upon the product.  The U.S. Commercial Service best prospects for U.S. exports to Argentina include:  electric power systems, agricultural machinery, industrial chemicals, food processing and packaging equipment, medical equipment and supplies, residential building materials and supplies, information technology and systems, mining machinery and equipment, telecommunication equipment and services, travel and tourism services, plastics production machinery and security and safety equipment. 

The fundamentals for successfully doing business in Argentina are not dissimilar from the fundamentals elsewhere.  You should identify a qualified representative or distributor in Argentina.  You should have the capacity to deal in the local language.  Spanish is the predominant language in Argentina.  Foreign investments generally require a long term outlook and the requisite capital to support such an endeavor. 

For additional information regarding opportunities to do business in Argentina, the U.S. Commercial is an excellent resource.  For the opportunity to develop personal relationships in Argentina, the Estudio Juridico Strunz Abogados has offices in Buenos Aires.  As a member of Lawyers Associated Worldwide, it would be our pleasure to assist you in contacting representatives of the Strunz firm to pursue opportunities in Argentina. 

Lawyers Associated Worldwide is an association of independent law firms in approximately 100 commercial centers around the world.  The regional meetings and annual general meetings of the members allow for exchange of best practice ideas and business opportunities for clients.  David M. Mosier represented the Knox Firm at this meeting and if you would like additional information regarding this or opportunities elsewhere in the world, please contact him.