Synopsis "Business Opportunities in Argentina"
Welcome to Argentina! The U.S. and Argentina share a long history of bilateral commercial relations both in trade and investment. The United States is Argentina's third-largest trading partner and U.S. companies are among Argentina's top investors, with some U.S. companies maintaining local sales and manufacturing subsidiaries in the country for over a century. As the fourth most populous country in Latin America with a population of 42 million, Argentina is one of the largest economies in South America and, as such, remains an important export market for U.S. companies in a number of industries. The United States and Argentina share a mutually-beneficial trade relationship with total trade in goods reaching $14.8 billion in 2013. Two-way trade in private services between the two countries totaled an estimated $9.0 billion in 2013 (latest data available), with the U.S. exporting $7.1 billion to Argentina and importing $1.9 billion. The U.S. supplies raw materials, intermediate goods, and capital goods to feed Argentina's industrial sector while Argentina exports food and agricultural products as well as intermediate goods to U.S. industry. The U.S. enjoys a trade surplus with Argentina. Approximately 90 percent of its exports to Argentina are destined for local industry and agriculture such as computers, industrial and agricultural chemicals, agricultural and transportation equipment, machine tools, parts for oil field rigs, and refined fuel oil. Argentine exports to the U.S., meanwhile, include goods such as wine-Argentina is one of the largest exporters of wine to the U.S.-fruit juices, crude oil, and intermediate goods such as seamless pipe, tubes, and other iron and steel products. U.S. investment makes a large contribution to Argentina's economy. Over 500 U.S.-based companies currently operate in Argentina, employing over 155,000 Argentines. The stock of U.S. investment in Argentina reached $14.4 billion in 2012 (latest data available) and is concentrated in the energy, manufacturing, information technology, and financial sectors. U.S. firms operating in Argentina continue to make a positive impact on the Argentine economy and society and are widely respected for their corporate governance, the quality of the work environment they provide to their Argentine employees, their transparency, and their work in corporate social responsibility. In 2013, U.S. companies comprised 1/3 of the 100 most respected companies in Argentina published annually by MERCO, a local research company.
