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1400 GENEVA TIME ( 1300  GMT) 12 FEBRUARY 2007  
 
PRESS/TPRB/277 
12 February 2007 
 
(07-0531) 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: ARGENTINA 
Strong economic recovery: preventi ng market distortions will be 
important to sustained growth 
Argentina has successfully emerged from one of the worst recessions in its history, and the 
economy has been growing at a fast pace since 2003, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of Argentina.  
 
The report notes that the recovery has come hand -in-hand with the adoption of a wide range of 
policy measures that have included the abandonment of a fixed exchange rate, the renegotiation 
and reduction of the external debt, and governme nt intervention in domestic price formation. 
Although Argentina’s heterodox mix of measur es has, arguably, underpinned its remarkable 
economic turnaround, the report states that the systemic implications for the global economic 
system of such a strategy and whether it will pr event another boom-bust cycle in Argentina remain 
open questions.   
The report also mentions that a successful transition to a sustainable growth path calls for policy 
measures to avoid economic overheating and prevent market distortions from becoming 
entrenched, and that attracting investment is important to address emerging supply constraints, 
and depends in part on enhancing investor confidence. It also stresses the importance of the 
international economic environment, which Argentina can help shape by continuing to play an active role in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA)  
 
The report, along with a policy statement by the go vernment of Argentina will be the basis for the 
second Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Argentina by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 12 
and 14 February 2007. 
 The following documents are available in MS Wo rd format on the WTO web-site. They can be 
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/ tratop_e/tpr_e/tp277.htm  
 • Secretariat report 
> Contents and summary observations  
> Economic environment  > Trade and investment regimes  
> Trade policies and practices by measure  PRESS/TPRB/277 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 
 > Trade policies by sector  
> Appendix tables  
• Report by Argentina 
• Chairperson’s concluding remarks  
• Minutes of the meeting (available appr oximately six weeks after the meeting). 
Note 
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member 
countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant 
developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy stat ement by the government of the member under 
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents 
are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in  the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These 
documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.  
 
Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at 
https://secure.vtx.ch/shop/boutiques/wto_index_boutique.html  or follow this path :  
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews   
The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press , 4611-F Assembly 
Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States 
Next reviews: 
European Communities : 26 and 28 February 2007 
Australia: 5 and 7 March 2007 
Canada: 21 and 23 March 2007 
 
For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to 
http://www.wto.org/english/trat op_e/tpr_e/tpr_ e.htm#reviews 
or follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews 
  
 
END