March 13th, 2026
1. Argentina Week: Investments, Praise, and Criticism of Business Leaders in New York
Argentina Week 2026 concluded yesterday in Ney York after a week of meetings between officials, governors, business leaders, and international investors. The event, organized by the Argentine Embassy in the United States together with JP Morgan and Bank of America, featured an opening speech by President Javier Milei on Tuesday, March 10. In his speech, Milei presented Argentina as a business opportunity, highlighting advances in energy, mining, agriculture, and the knowledge economy. He also defended his administration’s results in terms of fiscal deficit, inflation, and poverty, and reaffirmed his commitment to debt repayment and respect for property rights. Before the speech, the president held a private meeting with Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan. However, part of the speech generated controversy. Milei argued that Argentina’s trade openness coefficient is 28%, when it should be around 93%, and maintained that those who defend national industry do so to protect privileges, not production. Along these lines, he harshly criticized businessmen Paolo Rocca and Marcos Madanes Quintanilla for their alleged complicity in political corruption. The Argentine Industrial Union responded with a statement describing these remarks as “unfair and unfounded” and warning that discrediting those who produce and invest weakens the climate of respect that the country needs to rebuild. The event was also attended by several governors and Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni, who replaced the president in some activities after his departure to Chile for the inauguration of José Antonio Kast.
2. Milei attended Kast’s inauguration and confirmed his participation in the Madrid Economic Forum
President Javier Milei concluded an international tour this week that took him from New York to Chile, with his next stop in Spain this weekend. After participating in Argentina Week in New York, Milei traveled to Santiago on Tuesday night to attend Wednesday’s transfer of power ceremony between Gabriel Boric and José Antonio Kast at the National Congress in Valparaíso. The event brought together more than a dozen heads of state and marked a significant political shift in Chile, where Kast took office with 55% of the vote, becoming the most voted president in the country’s history. A bilateral meeting between the two leaders was planned prior to the ceremony but was canceled due to scheduling conflicts. Even so, Milei’s presence reinforced the bond between the two governments, which seek to advance a common agenda of free trade and regional security. The day also had a note of regional tension: Brazilian President Lula da Silva declined to attend, in part because of the presence of Flavio Bolsonaro, with whom Milei was photographed during the ceremony. On Sunday, Milei will travel to Madrid to participate in the Economic Forum on March 16, where he will deliver the closing speech. The event is organized around criticism of socialism and the defense of economic freedom, central themes of the president’s political discourse. He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and Karina Milei.
Ámbito: Javier Milei viajará a España para participar del Foro Económico de Madrid
3. Expoagro 2026: between the dynamism of agriculture and political noise
The 20th edition of Expoagro, the largest open-air agro-industrial exhibition in the region, closes today at the San Nicolás exhibition center after a week that saw record numbers of exhibitors: more than 700 companies participated, with all spaces reserved in advance, surpassing the previous edition. The exhibition took place in a particular context: while industry, trade, and employment are going through a difficult time, the agricultural sector showed dynamism and growth, driven by a good agricultural season. Politics was present from day one. The opening ceremony on Tuesday was attended by former President Mauricio Macri and Santa Fe Governor Maximiliano Pullaro, along with Agriculture Secretary Sergio Iraeta, who promised to continue lowering withholding taxes. For their part, both Macri and Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof, who met at Monday’s welcome dinner, expressed their own positions on the sector: Kicillof highlighted the province’s support for agriculture, while Macri backed the national economic course, although he pointed out that there are aspects of implementation that could be improved. On Wednesday, Senator Patricia Bullrich reinforced the government’s stance by touring the exhibition with eight legislators from her bloc, defending the reduction in withholding taxes and the benefits of the new Labor Modernization Law for the agricultural sector. The inaugural speech, on the other hand, opted for moderation: the mayor of San Nicolás called for overcoming divisions and governing with results..
La Prensa: Expoagro 2026 abrió con récord de expositores y fuerte presencia política
4. The government reorganized the Ministry of Economy and launched a new import control protocol
This week, the national government took two steps that redefine the structure of the Ministry of Economy: an internal restructuring through Decree 146/2026 and the approval of a new Market Surveillance Protocol through Resolution 56/2026, published in the Official Gazette. The decree modifies the ministry’s organizational chart, eliminating some traditional undersecretariats and creating new areas. The most significant change is the merger of the Secretariat for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Secretariat for Industry and Commerce into a new Secretariat for Industry, Commerce, and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, which will focus on industrial policy, SME development, foreign trade, and consumer protection. The Undersecretariat for Economic Analysis and Modeling is also created, which assumes macroeconomic diagnostic functions that were previously distributed among two other areas. At the same time, Resolution 56/2026 establishes a more structured oversight scheme for products and measuring instruments marketed in the country. The new protocol includes documentary controls, technical inspections, laboratory sampling, and random border controls. A notable point is the financing scheme: if the product complies with regulations, the State absorbs the costs of testing; if it does not comply, the company must reimburse those costs in addition to facing the corresponding penalties. The measure, which took effect immediately, responds to complaints from SMEs regarding the surge in imports recorded in 2025.
Economis: El Gobierno endurece los controles sobre productos e importaciones para proteger consumidores
5. INDEC: February inflation stood at 2.9%, and the cost of the basic basket of goods exceeded $1.3 million
Inflation in February reached 2.9%, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), the same figure as in January. Over the past twelve months, the cumulative increase was 33.1%, while in the first two months of the year it totaled 5.9%. President Javier Milei expects the index to begin declining after March, with the goal of reaching a value close to zero between July and August. According to INDEC data, there have now been ten consecutive months without a monthly slowdown in the CPI, which has been rising steadily since the 1.5% recorded in May 2025. In addition, the year-over-year change increased for the fourth consecutive month. The largest monthly increase was in Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, at 6.8%, driven by increases in utility rates and changes in the criteria for granting subsidies in several provinces. Food and non-alcoholic beverages ranked second, with a 3.3% increase. Among the categories, Regulated prices led the increases at 4.3%, followed by the core CPI at 3.1%, while Seasonal products recorded a 1.3% decline. The Total Basic Basket reached $1,397,672 in February for a typical four-person household. To avoid falling into poverty, that same group needed $644,088, while a single adult needed at least $208,443. Over the month, the Basic Food Basket rose 3.2% and the Total Basic Basket rose 2.7%. On a year-over-year basis, the cumulative increases were 37.6% and 32.1%, respectively.
La Nación: La inflación de febrero fue 2,9%, por encima de lo esperado por el mercado