On December 27, The Argentine Executive Branch sent a bill titled “Foundations and Starting Points for the Freedom of the Argentine People” to the Argentine Congress (the “Bill”). This Bill is the continuation on the reforms proposed by the new administrative government.

The Bill:

• Declares public emergency in economic, financial, fiscal, social security, security, defense, tariff, energy, health, administrative and social matters until 31 December, 2025
• Ratifies the Decree of the Necessity and Urgency Decree No. 70/23. Here you can read about the Decree and the amendments done.
• Delegates several legislative powers to the Executive Branch during the public emergency period.
• Introduces a series of legal, corporate, electoral, institutional, privatization, tax, criminal, litigation reforms with impact on several sectors of the economy and aiming to reorganize the public administration.

Briefly, these are some of the relevant reforms:

• Public procurement system: the Executive Branch is authorized to include arbitration, conciliation, and mediation clauses that extend jurisdiction outside of Argentina and enter into settlement agreements.
• Changes to the concessions and public works regime are proposed with the aim of improving its operation.
• Privatization of 41 state-owned companies: These entities cover a wide range of sectors in the Argentine economy, from port administration and aviation services to the production of agricultural technologies, financial services, energy. Some focus on the manufacturing of military products and aircraft, while others are dedicated to the management of railway infrastructures and postal services. Additionally, there are companies focused on, news, and satellite technologies.
• An investment incentive regime is established for new projects or expansions in the sectors of agribusiness, infrastructure, forestry, mining, gas and oil, energy, and technology. The regime aims to grant certainty, predictability, stability, legal security, and protection of acquired rights in tax, customs, and exchange regulations to those who commit to making significant investments within a specified period, as long as they fulfill that commitment. These measures are deemed necessary for the occurrence of such investments.
• A new Antitrust Law is proposed repealing the current one.
• A new regime for the exceptional regularization of tax, customs, and social security obligations, aiming to encourage transparency in the economy and foster private investment.
• Tax regularization program, along with modifications to tax on personal assets and internal taxes. Individuals and companies in tax debt will be able to pay a part of their debt (between 15% and 30%) and finance the rest in periods of between 36 and 84 months.
• Energy: The reforms aim to promote:
  • international free trade of natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, butane, oil, and its derivatives;
  • non-producing third parties to engage in gas processing, extraction of liquids from natural gas, liquefaction of natural gas, transportation of gas, oil, derivatives, and liquid fuels in general; storage of gas, liquefied natural gas, oil, derivatives, and liquid fuels in general;
  • the deepening of free trade, competition, and expansion of electricity, hydrocarbons (gas and oil), and biofuels markets in all forms (present and future); and
  • a legal framework for private sector infrastructure development in the areas of hydrocarbons and electricity transportation.
• Fishery: The Federal Fisheries Regime is modified to promote the growth of the fishing market through increased openness, establishing a bidding system for quota-species.
• Glaciers Law: A modification is made to enable economic activity in the periglacial zone, subject to environmental reports required by regulations, reversing federal encroachment on provincial powers.
• Tourism: The rates and prices of the services rendered in all matters related to social and recreational tourism will not be determined by the State.
• Labour: The Bill provides benefits, such as cancellation of fines and penalties, for private employers regularizing labor relations initiated prior to the date of enactment of the law. Regularisation may include unregistered employment relationships or poorly registered employment relationships.