Background
Economy
- overview: Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly
literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a
diversified industrial base. However, when President Carlos MENEM took
office in 1989, the country had piled up huge external debts, inflation
had reached 200% per month, and output was plummeting. To combat the
economic crisis, the government embarked on a path of trade
liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. In 1991, it
implemented radical monetary reforms, which pegged the peso to the US
dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base by law to the growth
in reserves. Inflation fell sharply in subsequent years. In 1995, the
Mexican peso crisis produced capital flight, the loss of banking system
deposits, and a severe, but short-lived, recession; a series of reforms
to bolster the domestic banking system followed. Real GDP growth
recovered strongly, reaching 8% in 1997. In 1998, international
financial turmoil caused by Russia's problems and increasing investor
anxiety over Brazil produced the highest domestic interest rates in
more than three years, halving the growth rate of the economy.
Conditions worsened in 1999 with GDP falling by 3%. President Fernando
DE LA RUA, who took office in December 1999, sponsored tax increases
and spending cuts to reduce the deficit, which had ballooned to 2.5% of
GDP in 1999. Growth in 2000 was a negative 0.5%, as both domestic and
foreign investors remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay
debts and maintain the peso's fixed exchange rate with the US dollar.
The economic situation worsened still further in 2001 with the widening
of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive withdrawals from the banks, and
a further decline in consumer and investor confidence. Government
efforts to achieve a "zero deficit", to stabilize the banking system,
and to restore economic growth proved inadequate in the face of the
mounting economic problems. At the start of 2002, newly elected
president Eduardo DUHALDE met with IMF officials to secure an
additional $20 billion loan, but immediate action seemed unlikely. The
peso's peg to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso
was floated from the dollar in February; inflation picked up rapidly.
Holidays
Jan 1 - New Year's Day
Mar 24* - Maundy Thursday
Mar 25* - Good Friday
Apr 4* - Malvinas Day
May 1 - Labour Day
May 25 - National Day (Anniversary of the 1810 Revolution)
June 20* - National Flag Day
Jul 9 - Independence Day
Aug 17* - Death of General Jos de San Martin
Oct 11* - Day of the Americas (Columbus Day)
Dec 8 - Immaculate Conception
Dec 25 - Christmas Day
Dec 31 - New Year's Eve
Ps: These festivals dates(*) given above are approximations which are subject to change every new year.
Phone Codes
Country Code 54
Outgoing International Code: 00
Buenos Aires city and suburbs:
11 + 4 + Local Number
Buenos Aires city and suburbs (mobile phones)
11 + 15 + 4 + Local Number
Southern Argentina: Provinces including and south of San Juan, San Luis, La
Pampa and Buenos Aires
2 + Area Code + 4 + Local Number
Northern Argentina: Provinces including and north of La Rioja, Cordoba,
Santa Fe and Entre Ros
3 + Area Code + 4 + Local Number
Resources
Market Research
Argentina Post
It
is a news site with both English and Spanish versions covering
headlines, business, economy, politics and travel related to
Argentina.
ArgentinaTrade.Com
It
is a one-stop venue for the business community to search and find
manufacturers, producers, exporters and importers; detailed profiles of
various industries, companies and businesses are listed in its
directory search in Argentina.
Buenos Aires Herald
English
news site providing a wide range of coverage such as world news, Latin
America news, politics, business, economy, market reports and company
news.
CIA - The World Factbook - Argentina
This
website indicates a wide range of detail information about Argentina by
introducing under 8 different fields as its geography, people,
government, economy, communications, transportation, military,
transnational issues.
About Argentina
There
is available to find out Argentina's general outlook on the issues of
its social and business profile, passport/visa, money, accommodation,
government, duty free, health and so forth.
Trade Information
IRAM, Instituto Argentino de Normalizacion
Argentine Standardization Institute
AMN, Asociacion MERCOSUR de Normalizacion
MERCOSUR Standards Association
USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service in Buenos Aires
Government assistance for U.S. exporters and Argentine importers of agricultural products
| 
