Online shopping is restricted in Argentina as foreign reserves fall

Argentina has introduced new restrictions on online shopping as part of efforts to stop foreign currency reserves from falling any further.

Anyone who makes a purchase from an international website now needs to collect their delivery from a local customs office and complete a declaration when it is collected. The same process needs to be done for every purchase, including items purchased on well-known websites such as ebay and amazon.

Previously an international parcel delivery would usually be made to a residential address. However now each time that delivery arrives in customs a person needs to spend on average three to four hours collecting it during working hours. These changes will further reduce demand for foreign goods in Argentina impacting any USA exporters negatively.

An individual can purchase goods from abroad up to a value of $25 tax free every year. Argentina already charges a 50% tax on any goods bought by an individual over this value. The Argentinian government hopes that these additional measures will help them to get better records on consumer’s international transactions, with the new declaration ensuring that they can more easily enforce payment of any import duty owed. 

With a 30% drop in Argentina’s hard currencies last year, the government has put in place a number of additional restrictions on transactions with foreign currencies in an attempt to stop it falling further. Fresh currency measures were brought in within a week of Ms Fernandez re-election in 2011.

More recently they have added a 35% tariff on foreign credit card transactions, restrictions on buying US$ and measures to restrict the volume of goods a business can  import. It is feared that this might have a negative impact by creating problems with importing foreign supplies needed for domestic production. 

Although the Argentinian econmomy has grown during the Fernandez’s government, inflation now reached double figures. Although some  analysts do not trust the official figures  and believe that Argentina might already be in a technical recession, with some predicting that inflation might hit 30% this year.

Most Countries operated currency controls until the middle  of  the 1990s.  These were dropped by  Argentina  in 1991 when  the finance  minister Minister Domingo Cavallo pegged their peso to the dollar. 10 years later when the government had to devalue its currency this plan failed. Argentina had to freeze bank accounts, default on its debts and as a result has struggled to get foreign loans at market rates ever since.