Importing from China to Argentina in 2026: Customs, VAT, Mercosur

Two recent reforms changed the picture. In December 2024, the Impuesto PAIS, a tax on foreign currency purchases that had made every payment to a foreign supplier more expensive, was abolished. Then, on February 26, 2025, resolution 5651/2025 dissolved SEDI, the licensing system that had replaced the old SIMI licenses, voiding declarations already in progress, according to the official US trade guide on Argentina, published August 1, 2025 and accessed September 27, 2026.

The current administration has also eased importers' access to the foreign exchange market, without removing either customs duties or product-specific standards.

With no preferential agreement with China, the niches sit in tariff codes that Mercosur does not shield with competitive regional production: each line needs to be checked case by case, with no reliable rule of thumb by product family.

Argentina is a founding member of Mercosur, in force since January 1991 alongside Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, according to the official US guide to Argentine trade agreements. The same guide lists a framework agreement with the European Union since 1995, an EU-Mercosur agreement concluded in 2019, and negotiations with Singapore closed in July 2022, both still awaiting ratification; no free trade agreement with China appears on that list.

Chinese goods therefore enter under Mercosur's general regime, with no tariff preference. Classification relies on the Nomenclatura Común del Mercosur, or NCM, aligned with the Harmonized System, per the same guide.

On the administrative side, decree 953/2024 of October 25, 2024 dissolved AFIP and created ARCA, the Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero, as confirmed on arca.gob.ar on September 27, 2026. This agency centralizes import registration and the collection of duties and taxes.

Argentine duties most often apply ad valorem on CIF value, with some products carrying specific or mixed duties, according to the official US guide on Argentine tariffs. The simple average duty across all lines stood at 12.04% and the trade-weighted average at 6.51%, based on 2023 data from WITS, World Bank, accessed September 27, 2026; the same US guide notes that some sensitive categories can carry duties of up to 35%.

Example on a CIF value of 10,000 dollars: at the 12.04% average rate, the duty would come to about 1,204 dollars; at the 35% ceiling, it would reach 3,500 dollars. The gap shows why the exact NCM code needs verifying before negotiating any price.

Beyond the duty, the definitive import of goods is subject to VAT at the general rate of 21%, with some products under the reduced rate of 10.5% or the increased rate of 27%, according to the rate table published by ARCA (Ley 23.349), accessed September 27, 2026. Additional surcharges apply (a VAT advance, an income tax advance, a statistical tax) whose rates could not be confirmed this session: check with ARCA or a customs broker before pricing a landed cost.

For a sea shipment, the official US guide lists the commercial invoice, the bill of lading, the packing list and, where relevant, an insurance certificate; for air freight, the air waybill replaces the bill of lading.

A certificate of origin may be required depending on the product (consumer goods, textiles, footwear, machinery, chemicals, tires, steel products, among others), according to the official US guide. It is authenticated by the chamber of commerce of the country of origin and then legalized by the Argentine consulate, and remains valid for six months from certification, accessed September 27, 2026.

Since resolution 5651/2025 of February 26, 2025, the SEDI declaration is no longer required. Registrations specific to certain categories may still apply: check with a customs broker before shipping.

The Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación, IRAM, is Argentina's standards and certification body: it develops standards aligned with ISO and certifies products and systems across sectors from electrical goods to food, according to iram.org.ar, accessed September 27, 2026.

The exact list of tariff headings subject to mandatory certification, along with the costs and timelines for each scheme, could not be confirmed this session. ANMAT regulates pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and SENASA covers animal, plant and food products: a direct check with IRAM or a customs broker remains essential before starting a regulated production run.

The official US guide lists these bans, each backed by a specific regulation, accessed September 27, 2026.

Buenos Aires remains the main container gateway, alongside Dock Sud, Zárate, La Plata and Bahía Blanca. A verifiable traffic figure or transit time from southern China could not be found this session: ask a freight forwarder when booking.

FOB suits cases where the buyer arranges transport; CFR or CIF work when the seller covers freight to the port. DDP is not advisable, since it requires the seller to act as the customs declarant on the ground, a role Sorva never takes on.

On payment, common practice remains a deposit followed by a balance before shipment, paid into the factory's business account, never a personal account. Argentina's exchange controls have eased: the current administration has lifted restrictions on access to the foreign exchange market for paying foreign suppliers, according to the official US guide on import procedures in Argentina, accessed September 27, 2026.

A first import follows a precise sequence: specifications, factory verification, an approved sample, a proforma invoice with incoterm, NCM code and certification checked, production follow-up, a pre-shipment inspection, freight to the Argentine port, gathering the documents (invoice in Spanish, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, certificate of origin if required), then the customs declaration filed by the client or their customs broker with ARCA.

Sorva, a sourcing and trading house based in Guangzhou, finds and vets factories, negotiates, arranges quality inspection before shipment and organizes freight to the chosen Argentine port. Sorva never acts as the official importer of record in Argentina, does not clear goods through customs on the ground, and does not export vehicles without a licensed Chinese exporter. Our base offer is invoiced in dollars, with by-zone options quoted on request.