Export Taxes on the Agendas of the Right: The Case of the Elimination of Mining Export Taxes in Argentina during the Macri Government

Abstract

One of the most recurrent issues on the agenda of the new right-wing movements —and one that has recently resurfaced under the government of Javier Milei— is the elimination of export duties, commonly known as “retenciones.” However, this debate is not new in Argentina: in 2007, the government of Nestor Kirchner increased export duties; in 2016, the government of Mauricio Macri eliminated them, arguing that these taxes discouraged investment, but in 2018, the measure was reversed and the taxes were raised again.

This paper hypothesizes that policies regarding export duties followed more of a trial-and-error logic, conditioned by structural factors that go beyond the will of individual governments, rather than by their ideological orientation or stated objectives.

This article aims to analyze how the policy on mining export duties was formulated and modified during the governments of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Mauricio Macri, exploring how the issue entered and evolved within the government agenda, the arguments used, the determining factors, contradictions, and precedents. To this end, official documents, specialized articles, and journalistic pieces related to the issue were collected and analyzed.