The new Framework Agreement between the United States and Argentina, officially released by the White House, continues to stir debate in our country. Some sectors of the national industry are concerned, others view the initial agreements that have been announced positively, and we also find sectors that can both benefit and see a challenge ahead at the same time.
Those who may view part of the new agreement as both positive and challenging are in the textile industry, emerging from the paragraph where it mentions: the commitment to strengthen the fight against counterfeited and pirated products. For a country where the sale of fake clothing and informal imports have surged in recent years, this news seems positive. However, wouldn’t it just be going around in circles? Does it help that the textile industry has less external competition but continues to face the same tax burden and internal costs? It is quickly becoming apparent how these discussions are mobilizing the textiles in the country.
Nearly 15 years of decline: the data from the ProTejer Foundation
The ProTejer Foundation, an organization that unites textile companies, has been alerting for years about the critical situation in the sector.
According to the most recent reports:
It is reported that between December 2023 and April 2025, the textile, apparel, leather, and footwear sector “lost 10,300 jobs”.
The utilization of installed capacity fell to critical levels: in several quarters, it was below 47%.
But the most striking fact is that the ProTejer Foundation has been warning since the early 2010s that textile production is in increasingly critical levels of decline each year. It would not make sense to blame the last administration when we see that different governments, economic models, and international trade policies have not changed the problem but rather deepened it.
The crisis is not new. What is new is that, with the advance of international e-commerce, the deterioration has accelerated.
SHEIN and TEMU: the numbers that move the local market
The official data from the Argentine Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CACE) clearly shows the magnitude of the phenomenon:
In the first half of 2025, SHEIN represented 10% of all international digital purchases made from Argentina.
Temu reached 8%, an explosive growth considering its entry into the country was much more recent.
Purchases through couriers —the legal mechanism that allows the importation of products purchased on foreign platforms— doubled in 2025 compared to the previous year.
The result is simple: While a t-shirt produced in Argentina accumulates up to 50% total tax burden -According to the ProTejer Foundation-, a garment shipped from China pays almost nothing, arrives in two weeks, and is sold at an unthinkable price for any local manufacturer.
At this point, the challenge becomes more complex for local producers, as they do not compete against other companies: they compete against a global ultra-low-cost ecosystem subsidized by gigantic production scales, lesser labor regulations in their countries, and hyper-optimized global logistics.
What the agreement with the United States really says
In the official statement from the White House, the following text appears:
“Argentina has taken steps against a significant and notorious regional market for counterfeit goods and will continue to enhance the enforcement of norms against counterfeited and pirated products, including in the online environment.”
Additionally, the agreement includes another key commitment:
“Adopt and implement a ban on the importation of goods produced by forced or compulsory labor.”
This means that the United States demands stricter controls on counterfeits, dubious imports, and products associated with forced labor. Ultimately: more pressure to regulate the entry of counterfeit clothing, especially those arriving through individual or informal shipments. Something that National Deputy Miguel Ángel Pichetto will surely celebrate after proposing this week a tax of up to 30% for the TEMU and SHEIN platforms.
The underlying problem that no one addresses: fiscal pressure and internal costs
The Argentine textile industry has been "hunting in a zoo," as President Javier Milei would say, for decades. The idea of controlling clothing imports is not new, and if we were to advance solely in this area, we would regress to the old habits of: buying clothes abroad or buying counterfeit clothing because quality clothes are unaffordable. Why is there always insistence on customs controls? Is there no plan B?
We are currently in the process of discussing labor modernization, pension reform, and tax reform; it's a good time to listen to the businesspeople themselves, who with numbers confirm: High labor, tax, and logistics costs are among the highest in the region. Our country exceeds 42% of informality; an informal worker is a worker without labor rights, and taxes on textile production increase the final garment's price to levels that the Argentine consumer is no longer interested in paying again. If the fiscal and regulatory structure is not reviewed, any advances in controls become a temporary relief and a new vicious circle.
Nothing changes if the tax model remains the same
The Argentine textile industry turns in the old paradigms: if the country opens up, it suffers from imports; if it stays closed, the strangulation of internal tax pressure increases its prices, and when it seeks financing, the financial system does not appear.
The agreement with the United States may help to organize part of the chaos generated by counterfeits and the informal cross-border market. It can organize, improve controls, and pressure for traceability. But it does not solve the deeper structural problem. A textile industry cannot be viable if each garment produced accumulates a tax scheme that increases its final value by 40% to 50%.
Controlling counterfeits is positive. Limiting smuggling is key. We can debate regulating ultra-low-cost shipments. But if the Argentine Congress does not allow a serious debate about the matrix of taxes and internal costs, then closing the economy or opening it will be exactly the same.
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