Argentina exporters say government owes eight months of tax rebates amid tougher global trade backdrop

Argentina’s exporters’ chamber CERA said the government is eight months behind on tax reimbursements owed to exporters, warning that delays in VAT refunds and rebates on indirect taxes are tightening liquidity for companies that sell abroad.

The Cámara de Exportadores de la República Argentina (CERA) raised the issue during a meeting on international trade conditions held a year after global markets were shaken by new U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump, which triggered retaliatory measures and reshaped trade flows in several regions.

CERA President Fernando Landa said Argentina is moving toward regulatory simplification, in line with many other countries, but argued that repayment lags have become a central constraint. “There is a very significant delay in the payment of rebates,” he said.

CERA said that since 2024 the state has increasingly postponed the return of tax credits and refunds owed to exporters, including VAT and reimbursements linked to indirect taxes. The chamber said the delays amount to an implicit form of financing for the federal government.

Landa said that between April and December 2024 and between April and December 2025 exports rose 10%, while VAT refunds and export rebates fell 28% over the same periods. He added that rebates were zero in February 2026, though disbursements resumed in March.

Exporters also reiterated concerns about Argentina’s foreign-exchange rules, including the requirement to repatriate and convert export proceeds. CERA said exporters are effectively required to liquidate 100% of their export earnings, which it described as a global outlier that complicates cash-flow planning and limits the ability to manage dollar liquidity, including for equipment purchases that require advance payments.

“We have cases of companies that export and need to buy machinery abroad. If the buyer doesn’t have the dollars and the supplier requires an advance payment, the business owner has to rely on financing mechanisms,” a CERA executive said.

CERA said mandatory liquidation of export proceeds constitutes state intervention in corporate balance sheets that has few parallels internationally. The chamber also argued it creates unequal treatment, noting that companies with dollar-denominated contracts inside Argentina are not required to convert those receipts, and that service exporters are not subject to the same conditions.

The chamber also pointed to the continued use of export duties as another structural burden. CERA said only seven countries collect more than 5% of revenue through export taxes and only four apply rates higher than Argentina’s: Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Guinea-Bissau and the Bahamas.

Reassessing the external environment

CERA said recent U.S. trade policy shifts have added uncertainty. It noted that when Washington rolled out reciprocal tariffs during what U.S. officials dubbed “Liberation Day,” Argentina initially appeared positioned to benefit from relatively lower tariffs compared with some countries. After a U.S. court setback, CERA said the Trump administration pushed a “Plan B” using other trade tools, including Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, citing national security to restrict steel and aluminum imports, and Section 301 actions aimed at alleged unfair practices. CERA said Argentina is being watched in connection with forced-labor-related concerns.

On a possible bilateral agreement with the United States, CERA said technical considerations are contributing to uncertainty. Landa said the broader context is a dispute for international leadership in strategic resources and a geoeconomic reconfiguration of trade and investment flows, alongside debates over the role of the dollar in international payment systems and growing frictions around global rules. He added that multilateral institutions are being questioned and that trade governance is becoming less predictable.

CERA said these tensions are unfolding amid a high level of global conflict. Even before the Middle East war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world had already reached its highest level of conflicts since World War Two, the chamber said, adding that wars affect global logistics chains and freight markets, as well as energy, petrochemicals and overall economic activity.

CERA said Argentina exported $4.656 billion to the Middle East in 2025, representing 5.3% of the country’s total exports, and imported $683 million from the region, or 0.9% of total imports. It added that the Middle East is a key source of agricultural inputs for Argentina, including 26% of nitrogen fertilizers (urea) and 31% of potash fertilizers.

In digital trade, CERA highlighted a new source of uncertainty at the World Trade Organization. The chamber said the long-standing moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, in place since 1998, ended at the WTO’s latest ministerial meeting, raising questions about what happens if it is not renewed. CERA said Brazil, India, the United States and Turkey did not sign a new commitment, while developing countries argue the moratorium limits their fiscal revenues.

CERA said the global rise in restrictive measures is a sign of weakening international agreements, citing growth in quotas, tariffs, border procedures and compliance requirements. It added that the number of restrictive measures doubled in 2025, driven mainly by tariff actions. The chamber said that since 2022 the share of trade facing restrictions has more than doubled, reaching 19.7% in 2025, excluding trade-defense measures, and claimed the affected trade value in 2025 was roughly 54 times Argentina’s total exports.

Source: Paula Urien for La Nación

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