New wave of shutdowns and layoffs puts Argentine industry on alert

[IrishLad]

Indeed. Some businesses will restructure and find ways to compete, some will find themselves unable, and others will realize their business has no natural advantage in Argentina and closing is the only option. It is painful for companies and workers but it is great for consumers and taxpayers, and eventually capital and labor will get reallocated to better uses.

Traditional retail in Argentina will collapse overnight if Amazon is ever allowed to flourish there. I could not believe the prices of goods in Buenos Aires, there is no reason to buy anything if you can get it elsewhere.

Great for consumers is right. They need some kind of disruption. Quality is terrible and prices are very high. Even stuff made in Argentina that should be cheap is nuts.

@CraigM they did try to get Amazon to deliver and sometimes with low/no shipping but items got stolen. I ordered a few things and it was terrible. I received broken items. I ordered some sheets and they were used. It was obvious someone returned them. I tried to return them to Amazon and they wanted me to pay some very high shipping fee back. I ended up throwing it away.

 

[oil rush]

https://buenosairesherald.com/business/energy/indian-company-wins-major-lng-pipe-project-in-vaca-muerta

According to Gandini, it’s the first time “in Techint’s more than 70 years in the country”, that its steel company — the only local manufacturer of tubes for the oil and gas industry — has not been chosen for a major energy project.

Welspun also beat 13 other bids from companies in Spain, China, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Greece, and Turkey, La Nación reported.

“The winning bid barely exceeded US$200 million and was 40% lower than Techint’s,” said journalist Pablo Fernández Blanco.

Another article.

Milei spurns Techint billionaire Rocca as Indian firm wins pipeline bid

Flagship pipeline project championed by Milei administration choses foreign supplier over a local giant run by one of Argentina's richest men.

www.batimes.com.ar

 

[CraigM]

@CraigM they did try to get Amazon to deliver and sometimes with low/no shipping but items got stolen. I ordered a few things and it was terrible. I received broken items. I ordered some sheets and they were used. It was obvious someone returned them. I tried to return them to Amazon and they wanted me to pay some very high shipping fee back. I ended up throwing it away.

I've heard that. I have a friend in global compliance at Amazon, they operate in a lot of counties so I'll ask what he knows about Argentina. I would imagine it is tough when local products are poor value and importing is expensive and unpredictable, but you would know that better than me.

 

[BA Bound]

I've heard that. I have a friend in global compliance at Amazon, they operate in a lot of counties so I'll ask what he knows about Argentina. I would imagine it is tough when local products are poor value and importing is expensive and unpredictable, but you would know that better than me.

What makes Amazon so great in the States is their customer service and return policy. The problem with Argentina is it is far away from everywhere. Even if Amazon wanted to operate here they would need to move operations here. It is too difficult being so far. Half the time the stuff ends up here broken. Or never makes it here at all. Just not worth it now. I stick with Mercado Libre.

 

[Esposas]

https://buenosairesherald.com/business/energy/indian-company-wins-major-lng-pipe-project-in-vaca-muerta

According to Gandini, it’s the first time “in Techint’s more than 70 years in the country”, that its steel company — the only local manufacturer of tubes for the oil and gas industry — has not been chosen for a major energy project.

Welspun also beat 13 other bids from companies in Spain, China, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Greece, and Turkey, La Nación reported.

“The winning bid barely exceeded US$200 million and was 40% lower than Techint’s,” said journalist Pablo Fernández Blanco.

https://archive.ph/lab4r

 

[Cheap Bastard]

Another article.

Milei spurns Techint billionaire Rocca as Indian firm wins pipeline bid

Flagship pipeline project championed by Milei administration choses foreign supplier over a local giant run by one of Argentina's richest men.

www.batimes.com.ar

I think it's funny how all these billionaires are crying and making lawsuits against these foreign companies. Mercado Libre's founder just sued Temu because they are losing hundreds of millions against competition.

Galperin the founder of Mercado Libre was supposedly "libertarian". But I guess that is when it doesn't affect competition for him.

He is denouncing Chinese e-commerce app Temu for "unfair competition" after losing an estimated $600 million in revenue due to Argentina's recent import liberalization under President Milei.

Temu's import surge from $229M in 2024 to $594M in 2025 These ladies on the news are making fun of Galperin's shift from free-market champion to seeking government intervention.

 

[MikeRoss]

Mercado Libre literally means "Free Market" and he is complaining. All of these Chinese companies are going to eat the local companies that have terrible customer service. If Amazon could get a working system like the USA, all of these other companies would go out of business.

 

[oil rush]

the question is how will Welspun source the steel for its pipe line?

India confirmed that they will supply all the steel for the project. Sour grapes from Techint who accused them of "dumping" which in trade law means selling products below cost abroad to undercut competitors. They rejected the claim of dumping and rightly suggesting they are a very large, competitive vertically integrated producer.

Argentina is going to save a lot of money on this project like you can see from the lower bid. Free market efficiency hopefully will be the new norm in Argentina. The bad news for local producers is that it may pave the way for others to do the same thing which spells doom for a lot of local companies if they can't get competitive.

India desmintió “dumping” en los caños de “Don Chatarrín”

El embajador de India rechazó las acusaciones de Techint: “No existió el dumping” afirmó Ajaneesh Kumar.

urgente24.com

 

[Surfer]

Mercado Libre literally means "Free Market" and he is complaining. All of these Chinese companies are going to eat the local companies that have terrible customer service. If Amazon could get a working system like the USA, all of these other companies would go out of business.

Funny to think a company suing another company because they are offering too low of prices. It is funny watching some of these dinosaurs in Argentina trying to compete with Chinese companies.

El conflicto entre Mercado Libre y Temu llegó a la Corte Suprema

En agosto de 2025, el unicornio de origen argentino presentó una denuncia ante el Ministerio de Economía por “publicidad engañosa”; la plataforma china pidió una cautelar

www.lanacion.com.ar

 

[Betsy Ross]

I've heard that. I have a friend in global compliance at Amazon, they operate in a lot of counties so I'll ask what he knows about Argentina. I would imagine it is tough when local products are poor value and importing is expensive and unpredictable, but you would know that better than me.

Argentina isn't just any country. It's another universe here. I would be curious what your friend in global compliance says.