This has been stated by, among others, the president of the Association of Metallurgical Industrialists of the Argentine Republic (Adimra).

Argentina's industrial sector is "concerned" about the fall in exports and the increase in imports, amid the elimination by Javier Milei's government of the PAIS tax, which involves removing a tariff on the entry of foreign products into the country.

This was stated, among others, by the president of the Association of Metallurgical Industrialists of the Argentine Republic (Adimra), Elio del Re, in a radio interview on Wednesday, one day after the annual conference of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), the organization that brings together companies linked to industrial activities in Argentina.

Neither Milei nor his Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, participated in the meeting, and the president of the industrial confederation, Martín Rapallini, asked them for "equal conditions" in order to compete.

In this regard, the representative of the metallurgical sector believes that it is worrying that some incentives to reactivate the economy, such as exports, have been lost, while at the same time a scenario is taking place in which the sector is going out to buy from neighbouring countries, compared to the situation a year ago, when neighbouring countries were "queuing up" to come and buy from Argentina.

"There are some photos that we cannot ignore. The industry could not have changed so much in such a short time," said Elio del Re, who also referred to the year-on-year declines that the metallurgical industry, which brings together more than 20,000 companies, has been registering in recent months.

For the president of the metalworkers, the Argentine industry is not competitive and the products are expensive, which is due to "multiplicity of factors." "We are worried," he said.