As promised, the new Argentine President Mauricio Macri eliminated export taxes on agricultural goods including beef, wheat and corn while cutting a tariff on soybeans by 5 percentage points. Bloomberg reports that Macri told farmers “there are no more excuses to not produce more.” Export tariffs were increased in the last decade in a bid to boost government revenue.
The country estimates that farmers had been holding on $11.4 billion worth of corn, soybeans and wheat. Argentine farmers have protested the taxes for several years. Export tariff on soybeans will now be 30 percent. The taxes on beef, wheat and corn were previously 15 percent, 23 percent, and 20 percent, respectively. Argentina has shipped $17.9 billion of grains and oilseeds abroad this year, the lowest for the period since 2009.