With Decree 333/2025 as a roadmap, Javier Milei’s government seeks to close the technology price gap with the region; from the January 15, 2026lMobile phones will reach the 0 percent tariff and profound changes are expected in the market.
The measure, whose implementation began in May, with a Reduction of 8% versus 16%is reshaping the technology market not just because of the impact Prices to the consumer, if beyond that for the greater participation of brands.
With the aim of equating local values with international values and facilitating access to tools for work or personal use, the government a Tariff reduction plan in two stages.
From May to January 2026 andThe import duty fell from 16% 8% and from January 15, 2026 the rate will finally drop to 0%. At the same time, the company is trying to discourage the informal market and expand the official offering Video game consoles They lowered their rate from 35% to 20%.
As part of the initiatives aimed at creating more competition in the domestic market and reducing retail prices, internal taxes on imported products such as televisions, air conditioners and monitors will be reduced from 19% to 9.5% on imported products, added Gabriel Salomón, manager of Jidoka, explaining: “Overall, this represents a significant reduction in the tax burden on imported technology products.”
End of “shopping tourism”?
Historically, Argentinians in neighboring countries found prices of up to a 50% or 60% smaller. With the new regulation It is expected that the gap to neighboring countries will decrease dramaticallyAlthough Chile will continue to achieve more competitive prices due to its greater tradition and import dynamics, they explained from the Chamber of Importers of the Argentine Republic (CIRA).
On the other side of the mountains, the country remains the strongest competitor due to its location Free trade agreement and simple tax structure. However, for many people the difference would no longer justify the costs of a purely technical trip.
In comparison with Brazil, Argentina wants to stick to its values very similar or even more competitive on certain mid and high-end models.
The goal, importers emphasize, is for technical goods to have an “appropriate” value. Reducing the incentive to smugglewhich accounted for almost 30% of the mobile phone market in 2025.
Until now, The tariff reduction in May was not passed on linearly to the consumer, However, the number of market participants increased and the difference to neighboring countries narrowed.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is currently available through retailers in Argentina at a price equivalent to $2,409. in Chile it is around US$1,549; in Mexico it is $1,600 and in Brazil it is $2,074.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is available locally for $1,350 to $1,480; in Brazil between us 1300 and 1400 and in Chile between 1250 and 1350 US dollars.
More funding and the “black swans”
Despite the reduction in tariffs, the market faces challenges global challenges and the crises of local consumption. The high demand for RAM and chips due to the rise of Artificial intelligence At a global level, this could put upward pressure on prices and partially offset the reduction in local taxes.
However, importers and local businessmen see 2026 as a year of Growth due to two key factors. On the one hand, they indicate the return of credit as a sales driver. “Today the consumer places more value on financing than on the discount when paying in cash. Financial instruments will be the big driver of consumption,” emphasize CIRA.
At the same time, they value the Stability and predictability. As this is a non-election year, a climate of greater certainty is expected, so the process of developing new suppliers abroad and reducing intermediation to reduce costs, which began in 2024, is reflected in the final price.
“Argentina is evolving from a protected and expensive market to one with open competition,” the importers said, emphasizing that access to cutting-edge technology is beneficial for both individual users and local industries. “The challenge of proving your competitiveness in a scenario of equal pay”.
Avalanche at the door
The reduction in tariffs is changing the mobile communications market in the country. “There is a delay Nationalizations The inventory will have to wait for the new tariff structure to come into force in January 2026, i.e. hdistort the usual import rhythm at the end of the year,” Salomón said.
Given this, he expected a “Avalanche” of imports at the beginning of 2026 and larger supply quantities on the local market.
Regarding the transfer to Final price Regarding the new benefits, he stated that the abolition of the tariff and the reduction of domestic taxes could lead to a decrease in the quota 30 and 40% on mobile phones and other devices.
Wish Border crossingsThey assure that more players will come to Argentina. “Imports are increasing sharply in terms of the number of market participants,” said Lucas Bianchi, director of the company. “It used to be very busy with about 10 to 15 companies, many of them from the island of Tierra del Fuego, and now it is like this much more widely distributed“, he added.
In this sense, according to CIRA, Argentina imported $81,523 million in 2022; 73,714 million US dollars in 2023. In 2024 the figure decreased due to the recession of the economy and the consumption of “excess inventory”, but in 2025 it is estimated that the total amount will be close to that of 2022. From the entity point of view, they agree on the panorama: As new companies come in to import, traditional companies reduce their volume For this reason, the annual operating values are “somewhat above the historical ones, but with lots of breadth of offerings“.
This phenomenon leads to the entry new products which were previously unavailable in the country. Something that affects not only smartphones, but also all types of devices, including video game consoles.
“It has grown a lot because before you had to go through a lot of checks when importing, now it’s a little more lax,” Bianchi said, but clarified that there is also one Decrease in global demand for this type of product, both from China and other Southeast Asian markets that are “sharply reducing prices.”
Although there are external warnings due to the local tax breaks and the drop in prices from major manufacturers, Bianchi appreciated it in 2026 prices will continue to fall: “Here they still have a relatively high margin.”
However, the Chamber of Importers has their sights set on this upcoming costsessentially ports and logistics, which are “the highest in the region” and make it difficult to compete with countries in the region.
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