In force since May 20, 2025
Phones and consoles: the import tariff drops to 8% and to 0% from 2026
Decretos 333/2025 and 334/2025 (Official Gazette May 20, 2025)
in forceNATIONALApplies the same nationwide
Trade opening
Decreto 333/2025 cuts the phone tariff to 8% and to 0% from Jan 15, 2026, and leaves consoles at 20%. It hits the Ley 19.640 industry.
The other rules on this subject19
Imports: prior approval to bring in goods is eliminatedRes. 1/2023 Trade Secretariat + Joint GR AFIP-Trade 5466/2023 (Official Gazette Dec 26, 2023)in force
Mercosur–EU ratified: 450 million consumers open up to agriculture and industryLey 27.800 (Official Gazette Feb 26, 2026); provisional application from May 1, 2026in force
Argentina and the US sign their first trade and investment agreementBilateral agreement signed Feb 5, 2026 (no number; pending congressional approval)pending
What changed and who it applies to
What changed
Decreto 333/2025: (1) the Extra-Zone Import Duty on cellphones (NCM 8517.13.00 'smartphones' and 8517.14.31) drops to 8% on entry into force and to 0% as of Jan 15, 2026; (2) game consoles (NCM 9504.50.00) leave Annex V of Decreto 557/23: the tariff falls from 35% to 20% of the Common External Tariff; (3) the excise tax (Art. 70, Excise Tax Law) is set at 9.5% for a range of electronics and at 0% for those manufactured by Ley 19.640 beneficiaries with Tierra del Fuego origin (through Dec 31, 2038). Decreto 334/2025: a simplified small-shipments regime from the Fuegian Special Customs Area to the mainland, exclusively for end consumers: up to 3 identical units per year per recipient, maximum FOB of USD 3,000 per shipment, with the Ley 19.640 exemptions (VAT included). The prior 16% import duty on cellphones and the previous excise rate (19%) are press/communiqué figures, not from the operative text. verif May 20, 2025 ↗
In force
2025-05-20 (0% import duty on cellphones from Jan 15, 2026) verif May 20, 2025 ↗
Who it applies to
Importers and retailers of consumer electronics; end consumers (prices converging toward international levels); Tierra del Fuego's Ley 19.640 industry (Newsan, Mirgor, BGH and their chain), which keeps a 0% excise tax and gains a direct small-shipment channel; logistics and courier operators (TdF→mainland flow). verif May 20, 2025 ↗
The norm
Decretos 333/2025 and 334/2025 of the national Executive Branch, signed on May 19, 2025 and published in the BO on May 20, 2025. verif May 20, 2025 ↗
Our reading
The opening reaches the consumer's pocket: imported cellphones stop paying tariffs and game consoles drop from 35% to 20%. More competition and converging prices without dismantling Tierra del Fuego, which gains a brand-new direct channel to sell to the mainland (R4 · opening and deregulation). thesis
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Analysis and curation: Ignacio Aredez
Head of Despegue
Method and track record →- 20+ years in technology, 15 of them in data and AI, for clients across Europe and the Americas
- Certified in AI governance (ISO/IEC 42001)
- Machine Learning (Google Cloud)
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