G/SCM/Q2/ARG/39
28 April 2015
(15-2278)  Page: 1/2
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  Original: Spanish
 
  SUBSIDIES 
REPLIES TO FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS1 POSED BY UNITED STATES REGARDING 
THE NEW AND FULL NOTIFICATION OF ARGENTINA2 
The following communication, dated 27 April 2015, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Argentina. 
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 Incentives to Improve the Compet itiveness of Local Auto Parts 
 
Question 1 
 Would Argentina please provide a further expl anation as to why it does not view the 
auto programmes listed in the United States' previous questions to Argentina to meet 
the Article 25 notification requirements?  
Reply 1 
 
Argentina has already provided an explanation on this subject in its replies to the previous questions. We reaffirm that we do not have any auto programme that meets the conditions for 
being notifiable under Article 25 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. 
 Question 2 
 
Moreover, in its initial response to our qu estion on the Incentives to Improve the 
Competitiveness of Local Auto Parts programm e, Argentina stated that "the regime has 
not distorted import flows but has instead contributed to their expansion, since its 
benefits are aimed at new production pl atforms which are highly dependent on 
imports". Could Argentina please indicate what benefits are provided towards "new 
production platforms"? Could Argentina also please confirm whether those benefits are 
limited to the auto industry? 
 Reply 2 
 When Argentina pointed out that not only has the regime not distorted import flows, but that those flows have in fact expanded, it tried to show that Argentina's objective was never to impede 
imports of auto parts, but rather to reconstruct the value chain in the automobile industry which 
had fallen apart during the 1990s.  Thus, the improvement in the industry's compet itiveness, which benefited both domestic and 
foreign companies, was not at all achieved through any distortion of trade flows: imports of auto 
parts practically doubled in the period from 2007 to 2013, a remarkable achievement considering the unfavourable context resulting from the inte rnational economic crisis that began in 2008. 
 
                                               
1 G/SCM/Q2/ARG/30; G/SCM/Q2/ARG/37. 
2 G/SCM/N/220/ARG. G/SCM/Q2/ARG/39 
- 2 - 
  At the same time, there are no policies or programmes in Argentina that provide benefits for 
certain companies in the auto parts sector to the detriment of others, and indeed, all of the 
regulatory provisions applicable to companies in that sector are clear and objective.  
Tierra del Fuego Special Tax and Customs Regime 
 Question 3 
 
In response to our questions on the Tierra del Fuego Special Tax and Customs Regime, Argentina stated that this programme does not constitute a subsidy within the meaning 
of the Subsidies Agreement. Could Argentin a please provide further explanation why 
it believes the various VAT, tariff and other ty pes of tax reductions or refunds under this 
special tax regime are not subsidies and thus not subject to the notification requirements of the Subsidies Agreement? 
 
Reply 3 
 
This regime was not included in notification G/SCM/N/220/ARG because Argentina considers that 
it  does not meet the relevant notifiability criter ia in Article 25 of the Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures. 
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