Argentina’s industry records the second-worst decline worldwide in two years

President Javier Milei
Photo: elciudadano.com

Six global banks — Citi, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Barclays, Wells Fargo, and BofA Securities — simultaneously recommended liquidating Argentine bonds. The reports released, warned that Argentina remains “the most exposed market if global sentiment shifts.” Bank of America specifically recommended closing positions in the GD35 (Global 2035). The banks cited negative net reserves, doubts over agricultural liquidation at the current exchange rate, and the continuation of capital controls. The convergence of six institutions on the same day is an unusually strong signal of institutional skepticism.

Argentina recorded the world’s second-worst industrial decline from 2023 to 2025, said a consulting firm that analyzed data from the United Nations.

In the last two years, Argentina’s manufacturing sector fell by 7.9%, which fell by 8.2%, said the consultancy Audemus, founded by former Minister of Productive Development Matías Kulfas.

Audeumus analyzed data from 56 out of the 81 countries surveyed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

The report said that while in Europe the causes for the crisis are partly exogenous — “the energy shock, Chinese competition in the automotive sector, and trade tensions with the United States” —, the manufacturing situation in Argentina “is a response to domestic economic policy decisions.”

“The global or regional context cannot explain Argentina’s industrial decline,” the report added.

Factories closed and jobs lost

Since Milei took office, Argentina’s manufacturing sector has struggled amid import liberalization and weak domestic demand. So far, during the libertarian economist’s administration, more than 2,400 industrial companies have closed and 73,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost, according to official data — 5% of the country’s total industrial companies, said Audemus.

According to the national statistics institute, the INDEC, factories are operating at just 53.8% of installed capacity.

A senator for the ruling party, La Libertad Avanza, Francisco Paoltroni, said that under previous protections, business owners were “hunting at the zoo”, arguing that Argentina should focus on sectors where it is “naturally competitive” – agriculture, livestock, mining, oil and gas. “What God gave us,” he told the Herald.

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