December 12th, 2025
1. The special sessions in Congress have begun
On Wednesday, the special session formally began to address the laws that the government considers to be of utmost importance. The decree, announced last Tuesday, establishes the special session period from December 10th to December 30th. There are six bills to be discussed: the 2026 Budget Law, the Tax Innocence Law, the National Commitment to Fiscal and Monetary Stability Law, the Labor Modernization Law, the Criminal Code Reform Law, and the Minimum Budget Regime for Glacier Preservation Law. The main objective of these extraordinary sessions is to approve the 2026 Budget, considered a sign of economic and financial stability for the markets. In this regard, preliminary approval by the Chamber of Deputies is expected on Wednesday, December 17th. The government has not ruled out the use of a presidential veto if the amendments made in Congress exceed what was originally planned. Meanwhile, yesterday Milei, who recently arrived in the country, signed the labor reform bill that will begin to be discussed next week in the Senate.
2. Final report from the May Council meeting and conflict over labor reform
On Tuesday, the May Council, the advisory body created under the May Pact signed by 19 governors in July 2024, met. Its function is to define the guidelines for the structural reforms being promoted by the government. The meeting was attended by figures close to the ruling party: Federico Sturzenegger, Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation; Alfredo Cornejo, Governor of Mendoza; Senator Carolina Losada; Congressman Cristian Ritondo; Martín Rappallini, President of the UIA; and Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni. The Council worked on eight of the ten points originally planned. The chapters related to federal revenue sharing and pension reform were excluded. Among the approved guidelines are: defense of private property, fiscal balance, reduction of public spending, educational modernization, tax reform, exploitation of natural resources, trade liberalization, and labor reform. Of these areas, the most relevant is labor reform, which is scheduled to be debated in the Senate next week. In this regard, the meeting had one notable absence: Gerardo Martínez, representative of the CGT and secretary general of the UOCRA. His absence is part of the tension generated by the content of the labor reform, about which Martínez said two weeks ago that “there is no consensus” on the draft presented.
El Cronista: El detalle de las 8 reformas que impulsa el Gobierno: qué quedó fuera del informe final
3.The government officially announced the reduction of agricultural withholding taxes.
Today, the reduction in export duties on soybeans, corn, wheat, barley, sorghum, and sunflowers was made official in the Official Gazette. The announcement had been made last Tuesday by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, via social media. This is a permanent reduction in the withholding taxes applied to agricultural exports. In the case of soybeans, the rate is reduced by 2 points to 24%. For soybean derivatives (flour and oil), the rate drops from 24.5% to 22.5%. For cereals, wheat and barley will go from 9.5% to 7.5%; corn and sorghum from 9.5% to 8.5%; and sunflower from 5.5% to 4.5%. With this measure, withholding taxes will reach their lowest level since 2006. The decision comes amid strong demands from the sector for a lower tax burden, and after the elimination of withholding taxes on conventional oil generated criticism from producers, who considered agriculture to be at a disadvantage. A report prepared by the Rosario Stock Exchange (BCR) projected the economic impact of the reduction in export duties. According to the report, the new reduction in withholding taxes is estimated to have a fiscal impact of US$511 million in 2026.
Todo Noticias: Luis Caputo anunció una nueva baja en las retenciones al campo: la soja tributará 24%
4. Inflation reached 2.5% in November, and indices on industry and construction were published
INDEC published the CPI for November, which registered a monthly variation of 2.5% and 31.4% year-on-year; so far this year, cumulative inflation stands at 27.9%. The highest increases were observed in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (3.4%), while the lowest was in clothing and footwear (0.5%). For this year, the Market Expectations Survey (REM) estimates that inflation will close at 30.4%. On the other hand, this week saw the release of the Construction Activity Indicators report, which showed a monthly decline in October 2025. The Synthetic Construction Activity Indicator (ISAC) registered a 0.5% drop compared to September. In year-on-year terms, the sector showed an increase of 8% compared to October 2024 and accumulated an increase of 7.9%. Likewise, the Manufacturing Industrial Production Index (IPI manufacturer) was published, showing a 0.8% decline in the seasonally adjusted series compared to the previous month. This monthly decline is combined with a year-on-year decrease of 2.9% compared to the same month in 2024, indicating that the sustained growth observed during the year was interrupted in October, affecting the industrial sector as a whole.
Clarín: La inflación de noviembre se aceleró y fue de 2,5% por la suba de las tarifas, la nafta y la carne
5. Argentina issued a new dollar-denominated bond after eight years out of the debt market
Argentina returned to the debt market after eight years, issuing a $1 billion bond and betting on a return to the financial market, as well as testing international expectations. The operation serves as a signal of the level of confidence in economic management. The “Bonar 2029N,” as its name suggests, will mature in November 2029 and will have a rate of 9.26%. Among the objectives, the US$1 billion expected by the government has already been raised. Caputo has also said that part of the funds raised will be used to cover upcoming debt maturities. The appeal of this debt is that it is a short-term bond, which attracts investors in a market where short-term bonds are scarce, with an average emerging market debt maturity of 10 years. However, as the internal rate of return (IRR) was higher than expected, the next day the markets opened with a decline in the S&P Merval in dollars, while ADRs fell by up to 3.3% on Wall Street.
Perfil: Argentina prueba el apetito externo con la venta de un bono en dólares