Mercado Libre to allow locals to buy things from the USA and China

[earlyretirement]

Starting December 16, 2024, Mercado Libre will enable Argentine consumers to purchase products from the United States and China directly through its platform, following the removal of taxes and customs barriers.

This significant change is expected to enhance cross-border e-commerce in Argentina, allowing consumers to access a wider variety of products at potentially competitive prices.

All transactions will be conducted in Argentine pesos (ARS). However, the specific exchange rate for converting prices from USD or CNY to ARS has not yet been disclosed.

For the Chinese yuan (CNY), the exchange rate has been fluctuating around 132.84 ARS on average, with variations depending on market conditions.

The lack of a fixed exchange rate announcement means that consumers may face varying costs depending on market fluctuations at the time of their purchases.

This initiative comes amid a recovery in consumer spending in Argentina, where Mercado Libre has reported record sales figures. In August alone, it sold over 20 million products, driven by strong demand across various non-essential categories such as technology.

The platform's expansion into international markets is part of a broader strategy to capitalize on this recovery and enhance its service offerings.

While consumers in Argentina will soon have the opportunity to buy international products through Mercado Libre, they should be prepared for variable pricing based on fluctuating exchange rates.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1867031659352060300

 

[Betsy Ross]

Great news!! Once people get addicted to all the cheap Chinese and American junk they will get hooked just like Amazon in the USA. After that they are never turning back to socialism!

 

[Vince]

Great news!! Once people get addicted to all the cheap Chinese and American junk they will get hooked just like Amazon in the USA. After that they are never turning back to socialism!

This is more true than you know Betsy! That is why the young love Milei so much. They have grown up paying 3X for iPhone and electronics. Once the floodgates open it's going to be almost impossible to go back to the type of import taxes and regulations and pricing from before. It is a lesson that Trump will probably find out if he really tries to put tariffs on all the junk from China that Americans are used to paying very low prices on.

 

[import export]

Love this news. I guess Argentina will still collect the IVA 21% tax on everything but this is much needed. For too long consumers are getting raped on import taxes. I never thought this day would come. You are all right this will help ensure that the old ways don't come back. They are smart to institute these changes so quickly. They need to implement all of these types of changes ASAP before the mid-term elections.

 

[Uncle Wong]

Won't the local manufacturing companies go out of business once this happens? Seems like local industry won't be able to compete with China.

 

[Blockchain]

Won't the local manufacturing companies go out of business once this happens? Seems like local industry won't be able to compete with China.

Not sure how they can compete with China. Look at the steel industry. No one can compete with China on cheap Chinese steel unless there are hefty import taxes on it. My uncle owns self storage units here in the USA and he told me that if Trump puts more taxes on steel he will be killed with $2 million in extra costs as he expands his business.

I don't know Argentina well but nothing strikes me as really efficient there. The government made it so that local industries never had to compete and that made them lazy and not sure they can compete. Probably a lot of companies will close there now that imports are opening up.