Argentina: Business/trade

Commercial holidays

New Year's Day: January 1; Carnival Monday (varies); Carnival/Shrove Tuesday (varies); Memorial Day: March 24; Maundy Thursday (varies); Veteran's Day: April 2; Good Friday (varies); Labor Day/May Day: May 1; National Day/May 1810 Revolution: May 25; Commemoration of General Don Martín Miguel de Güemes: June 17; Flag Day: June 20; Independence Day: July 9; San Martin Day (varies); Day of respect for cultural diversity (varies); National Sovereignty Day (varies); Immaculate Conception: December 8; Christmas Day: December 25.

Note: For more information on specific holidays, see Argentina Public & Bank Holidays.

Public holiday celebrations may cause delays in commercial transport of goods. It is best to check with your agent in the country about the extent of business stoppage during holidays.

For information on holidays worldwide, see: Holidays and Observances around the World.

(Last updated on 2024-01-01)

Major trade agreements

• Organization of American States (OAS), General Secretariat Bldg. (GSB), 1889 F Street (corner of 19th and F Streets) NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, USA; phone: +1 202 458 3000
  • Member countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela
  • Note: French Guiana, represented by France, has an observer status.

• MERCOSUR, Administrative Office, Dr. Luis Piera, 1992, 1st Floor, MERCOSUR Bldg., POB 11 200, Montevideo, Uruguay; phone: +598 2412 9024; fax: +598 2410 0958 and +598 2418 0557
  • Main objective: to increase efficiency and competitiveness of all its member countries.
  • Member countries: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
  • Venezuela was suspended on 01 Dec 2016.

• Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) [Portuguese: Associação Latino-Americano de Integração (ALADI)], Calle Cebollatí, 1461, Barrio Palermo, POB 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay; phone: +598 2410 1121; fax: +598 2419 0649; email: sgaladi@aladi.org
  • Main goals: to promote economic and social development of the region.
  • 12 member countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

• Andean Community (associate member) [Spanish: Comunidad Andina (CAN)]
  • Goal: to stimulate industrial, agricultural, social, and trade cooperation.
  • Member countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
  • Associate members: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
  • Observers: Mexico, Panama, and Spain.

• Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) [Spanish: Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC)]
  • Goal: to join Latin American and Caribbean countries economically.
  • Member countries: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, St. Kitts & Nevis, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Dominica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

• Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
  • See Governmental Contact Points (by member country) for information about the FTAA process.
  • Member countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts & Navis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, USA, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

• Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA) (observer) [English: Central American Integration System]
  • Economic and political organization of Central American countries. It promotes economic integration and regional cooperation.
  • Member countries: Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Rep., El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
  • Regional observers: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, United States, and Uruguay.
  • Extra-regional observers: Australia, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malta, Morocco, New Zealand, Qatar, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

• Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) (observer) [English: International Francophonie Organization]
• OIF is one of the largest linguistic zones in the world. The French language and values are shared between member countries.
• Member countries: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, New Caledonia, Niger, North Macedonia, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Säo Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
• Observer countries: Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Rep., Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, Mozambique, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay.

• Check Argentina Trade Agreements.

• Preferential Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been signed between Egypt and Mercosur (Common Market of the South) which includes: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and associate countries: Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Suriname. It was ratified on 20 Jul 2017, and entered into force 30 days later.

For additional information on trade agreements and rules of origin see: Rules of Origin Facilitator.

(Last updated on 2022-12-09)

Other treaties/conventions

• World Trade Organization (WTO), Center William Rappard, Rue de Lausanne 154, CH-1211 Geneva 21; phone: +41 22 739 5111; fax: +41 22 731 4206; email: enquiries@wto.org
  • Check list of all Regional Trade Agreements (RTA).
• World Customs Organization (WCO), Rue du Marché 30, B-1210 Brussels, Belgium; phone: +32 2 209 9211; fax: +32 2 209 9262
• Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP), The United Nations Building, Rajadamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand; phone: +66 2 288 1234; fax: +66 2 288 1000
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Headquarters, 34 Chemin des Colombettes, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland; phone: +41 22 338 9111; fax: +41 22 733 5428
• International Road Transport Union (IRU), Headquarters, La Voie-Creuse 16 (CP 44), CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland; phone: +41 22 918 2700; email: iru@iru.org
  • Carnet TIR System: Convention on international transport of goods under cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) for cross border international road transportation.
• Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), Secretariat, International Environment House, 11 Chemin des Anémones, CH-1219 Châtelaine, Geneva, Switzerland; phone: +41 22 917 8139 and +41 22 917 8140; fax: +41 22 797 3417; email: info@cites.org
• World Health Organization (WHO), Headquarters, Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses (FOS), World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland; fax: +41 22 791 4807; email: foodsafety@who.int
• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Education Outreach Cluster, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information, UN Headquarters, New York, NY 10017
• Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (the Montreal Convention), IATA Head Office, 800 Place Victoria, PO Box 113, Montreal H4Z 1M1, Quebec, Canada; phone: +1 514 874 0202; fax: +1 514 874 9632
• Organization of American States (OAS), 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington D.C. 20006-4499, United States of America; phone: +1 202 370 5000; fax: +1 202 458 3967
• Union of South American Nations (USAN), Spanish: Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR) Av. Manuel Córdova Galarza, Mitad del Mundo 170311, Quito, Ecuador; phone: +593 2 399 0900; email: secretaria.general@unasursg.org
• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Headquarters, 999 Robert-Bourassa Boulevard, Montréal, Quebec H3C 5H7, Canada; phone: +1 514 954 8219; fax: +1 514 954 6077; email: icaohq@icao.int
• International Maritime Organization (IMO), 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, United Kingdom; phone: +44 20 7735 7611; fax +44 20 7587 3210; email: info@imo.org
• Universal Postal Union (UPU), Universal Postal Union, International Bureau, P.O. Box 312, 3000 Berne 15, Switzerland; phone: +41 31 350 3111; fax: +41 31 350 3110
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Place des Nations, 1211 Geneva 20 Switzerland; phone: +41 22 730 5111; fax: +41 22 733 7256; email: itumail@itu.int
• International Labour Organization (ILO), 4 Route des Morillons, CH-1211, Genève 22, Switzerland; phone: +41 22 799 6111; fax: +41 22 798 8685; email: ilo@ilo.org
• United Nations, New York, USA and Geneva, Switzerland.

(Last updated on 2023-07-25)

Government trade information

Argentinian Government:

• Argentina Customs Service, General Customs Bureau, Mr. Carlos Sánchez, General Director, Azopardo 350, C1107ADD Buenos Aires, Argentina; phone: +54 11 4338 6400 and +54 11 4338 6640; fax: +54 11 4338 6644
• Also see Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP), English: Federal Administration of Public Revenues; phone (information center): +810 999 2347
• Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, (Ministry of International Relations, Trade and Religious Affairs), Esmeralda 1212, Piso 13, C1007ABP Buenos Aires; phone: +54 11 4819 7000; fax: +54 11 4819 7324
• Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas Públicas, (Ministry of Economics and Public Finances), Press and Communications Office, Hipólito Yrigoyen 250, 5th Floor, Office 501, POB 1086AAB, Buenos Aires; phone: +54 11 4349 5000, +54 11 4349 6968 through +54 11 4349 6970, +54 11 4349 5112 and +54 11 4349 5105; fax: +54 11 4349 5107 and +54 11 4349 6965; email: edinfpub@mecon.gov.ar
• Ministerio de Agroindustria, (Ministry of Agroindustry), Ave. Paseo Colón, 2nd Floor, Office 240, 982 (1063) Buenos Aires; phone: 54 11 4349 2000 and +54 11 4349 2588 through 2475; fax: +54 11 4349 2589; email: prensa1@minagri.gob.ar
• Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación (IRAM), Perú 552/556, AR-C1068AAB Buenos Aires; phone: +54 11 4346 0648; fax: +54 11 4346 0651; email: ltrama@iram.org.ar
  • See ISO membership.

(Last updated on 2022-10-26)

Additional trade information

Refer to updated IMF Country Report.

(Last updated on 2022-03-31)

Traveler requirements (visas, samples, etc.)

A visa is required for visits to Argentina by citizens of some countries. See overview of Argentina Visa Requirements.

For detailed information contact:

• Argentina Embassy, 1600 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20009; phone: +1 202 238 6401 (General), +1 202 238 6460 (Consular Section); fax: +1 202 332 3171; email: eeeuu@mrecic.gov.ar
• Argentina Embassy, 65 Brook Street, London W1K 4AH; phone: +44 20 7318 1300; fax: +44 20 7318 1301; email: info@argentine-embassy-uk.org

For worldwide visa requirements see: Travel Visa Requirements.

(Last updated on 2019-05-25)

Business customs

All business in Argentina is transacted in Spanish, and all documents and records should be issued in Spanish. Although most Argentinians with a secondary school education understand English, a good working knowledge of Spanish is essential for anyone planning to work in Argentina for any length of time.

Any printed matter translated into Spanish should be reviewed first by a native Argentine to assure its suitability in Argentina.

A prior appointment for a business call is usually necessary and considered a courtesy. Negotiations are based on personal contacts. Business dress, appearance and general approach should be conservative.

For business customs check Cultural Guide - Argentina, and Management Guide - Argentina; also check Culture Crossing in Argentina.

(Last updated on 2018-04-13)