The international trade position of Argentina. Towards a process of export diversification

This study analyses how far the strong expansion of Argentine exports since 2003 has been due simply to favourable external conditions and how industrial manufactures have behaved. It finds that the country’s pattern of international specialization has not greatly altered at the major category level, but that both primary products and manufactures of agricultural origin, which account for much of the trade surplus, have undergone significant changes in composition. In addition, regional trade has consolidated and traditional partners such as the European Union and the United States have been displaced to some extent by China. Industrial manufactures have continued to suffer from a strong comparative disadvantage, but certain high-technology industrial sectors, such as agricultural machinery and pumps and compressors, have started to become competitive, while seamless oil and gas tubing is already highly competitive>>ClickHere>>>

Argentina : Trade Patterns and Challenges Ahead

Argentinean export growth was impressive during the recent economic boom (2003-2007). However, decomposing export growth reveals that the extensive margin (increases in exports of existing products to existing markets) dominates, while the intensive margin (increases in exports of new products or new markets) contributes little to export growth. Argentina’s trade product concentration has increased in the past 10 years, and the main export products remain overwhelmingly natural-resource intensive. The little diversification of non-primary exports limits the country s ability to weather a decline in export commodity prices. The country has had some success finding new export markets, especially in Latin America, but should seek to develop deeper trade relationships with high GDP export destinations such as the European Union and the United States. Another challenge going forward is the relatively low sophistication of exports and limited integration into the global production chains, falling behind regional competitors such as Brazil. This calls for policy measures to improve the ability of existing firms to innovate and compete successfully in global markets.
Citation
“Anos-Casero, Paloma; Rollo, Valentina. 2010. Argentina : Trade Patterns and Challenges Ahead. Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5221. World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/3708 License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0.”
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