President Milei’s optimistic view of reality

There are 16 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 1,005 times. The latest Post (December 8, 2024 at 3:17 PM) was by serafina.

    I just read this in MercoPress and had to hit myself in the head and then read again:

    “Argentine President Javier Milei insisted Monday that his country was “entering its best moment in the last 100 years,” despite what the rank and file may perceive amid soaring prices and dwindling wages.”

    The article goes on to quote him in a metaphor so crude that even trump hasn’t used it [yet].

    “In “technical jargon,” Milei underlined that “we are already seeing the bubbles of the diver's fart and in a short time the economy will be flying through the roof, in a good way.” In his view, “the recession is over and from now on it's all about growth.”

    Milei says Argentina “entering its best moment in the last 100 years”
    Argentine President Javier Milei insisted Monday that his country was “entering its best moment in the last 100 years,” despite what the rank and file may…
    en.mercopress.com

    Might be a wee bit premature but yes I think the toughest part of reconstructing the economic mess left by the last bunch of clowns is coming to an end. He did say it was going to be tough for many.

    Although to be honest, apart from rising prices I've not observed much hardship here.

    On Infobae there are a few examples of how much imported items will cost under the new regimen. To be fair, it sounds like a joke.

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    • El límite de importación pasará de USD 1.000 a USD 3.000. Esto es para todas las compras, pero beneficiará, sobre todo, a las pymes.

    As a freelancer, $3000 is ridiculous, let alone for a pyme. A computer costs more than that.

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    • No se abonarán aranceles por los primeros USD 400 de envío, siempre que sean productos de uso personal.
    • Por menos de USD 400 sólo se pagará el IVA.

    All that shoulder rubbing with Trump, and this is it?


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    Dos ejemplos

    Dos ejemplos de productos muy demandados: una consola y un par de zapatillas de marca de moda. Si se compra en plataforma, como Amazon, por ejemplo, habrá que contemplar posibles costos de envío, y también impuestos puntuales del lugar de origen que pueden incrementar el ticket total.

    Consola: la última versión de una de las consolas de videogames más conocidas puede comprarse por USD 699 en la cadena Best Buy.

    • Del valor total de ese producto, USD 400 no pagarán impuestos. Sólo 21% de IVA: un total de 84 dólares extra.
    • Los restantes 299 pagarán 38% de impuestos y luego 21% de IVA, según le detallaron a este medio fuentes del Gobierno. O sea, unos 500 dólares.
    • Así, el total del costo del producto puesto en Argentina será de USD 983. Eso es un 40% más de lo que pagaría alguien que compra el producto en Estados unidos en efectivo, pero casi 16% menos si se lo compara con lo que se pagaría hoy usando el actual que rige para las compras online desde el país.

    Zapatillas:

    • Uno de los modelos de una reconocida marca internacional se consigue a USD 120 en EEUU.
    • En ese caso, por el monto, sólo pagará en IVA de 21%: USD 145,2.
    • Si se lo compara con el sistema vigente hasta el momento, la importación con el nuevo esquema será un 27% más económica.

    A playstation 600 USD in the US and 983 USD in Argentina. I think local manufacturers can sleep tight at night.

    It is like a little gift to the masses. A distraction from the real issue. Obvious that he will never open up with lower tariff on imports. Imported products should be found on store shelves at the same prices as other countries.

    Quote from aficionado

    It is like a little gift to the masses. A distraction from the real issue. Obvious that he will never open up with lower tariff on imports. Imported products should be found on store shelves at the same prices as other countries.

    Sounds like the dream! And to say that neighboring countries have that, and they aren't exactly World powers, either!

    I live near Av. Córdoba outlets area. Today, the sidewalks were crowded with families visiting the stores. I didn't see many bags, though. I spotted a plain cotton jumper, of the same kind that can be found in mass stores abroad, for 83,000. A t-shirt with some prints was 38,000. And this was a male clothing store!! I saw a pair of shoes I liked, but the price was not displayed and given the cost of clothes, I didn't bother to ask.

    At the Brooksfield outlet, I checked out a pair of cotton shorts for my husband. A plain grey pair (pictured below) was 45,000 and that was the cheapest one. The sales assistant said they go up to 80,000. And this should be outlet price and not retail price. Not even if they take the dollar at 1400 they are getting my money.


    On the other side of the road, a multi-brand sport store had running apparels on their mannequins. Prices were displayed, but they were so tiny that I had to bend to read them. And this was done on purpose: for each item the actual price was in small print, and the installment amount was in big print. A pair of Nice workout leggings was showed as 27,000 in big print, because it was 6 installments of 27k each = 162,000 pesos. I bought the same leggings at the Nike outlet near Milan for €30 last summer (it is an old model)


    Leggings a 7/8 a vita alta con tasche e sostegno elevato Nike Go (Plus size) – Donna - Daybreak/Nero

    I am still disappointed about the so awaited lift of import duties.

    This example from InfoBAE compares the cost of an iPhone 16 in the US ($829) vs. the new import regimen in place from Dec 3, 2024 (tomorrow), i.e. $1200.34

    There are importers already selling it for less than $1200 since it was released.

    I finally found another example from InfoBAE, relating to imported cars.


    I had read about something similar in a previous article, that I am unable to retrieve. The gist of it was "since some import duties have been cut down, how does this impact the sales price of imported vehicles?". They interviewed someone from a car importer, and he basically said that the cut down only affects certain parts of the car, and it is a hard calculation to make. He said that a 40% cut down of duty tax doesn't mean 40% of the sales price for the end customer.

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    Un vehículo de gama media promedio del mercado argentino costaba en julio unos $30.000.000,unos USD 21.500 de entonces. Hoy son USD 28.500, pero como el precio en pesos aumentó a $35 millones, ahora son USD 33.000, un aumento superior al 43% en dólares

    Pardon me if I'm being naive, but doesn't the EU/Mercosur trade deal require lifting/reducing tariffs, at least for European manufacturers?

    I think I'm getting the hang of it. This is where I say "Because it's Argentina, and no one ever knows what's going to happen", right?

    There is some information in this article on InfoBAE


    A partir del acuerdo y a pesar del intento frustrado de rúbrica en 2019, la UE eliminará los aranceles para el 92% de las exportaciones del Mercosur y el bloque sudamericano suprimirá aranceles para el 91% de las importaciones que se realicen desde el continente europeo.


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    En cuanto a los productos que ingresarían al Mercosur desde la UE, cuyos aranceles oscilan actualmente entre el 20% y 30%, se encuentran: vinos, chocolates, whisky y otras bebidas alcohólicas, dulces, duraznos enlatados y gaseosas. En otros rubros, los aranceles se liberalizarán más paulatinamente. Es el caso de autos y sus partes, maquinarias, productos químicos, ropa, productos farmacéuticos y calzado de cuero. Así, “las empresas europeas se ahorrarán 4.000 millones de euros al año en derechos de exportación”, dijo la presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen.