Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) President Martín Rappallini fired back at Economy Minister Luis Caputo after the minister harshly criticized local industries over the cost of their products.
Rappallini said those kinds of comments don’t “foster the dialogue so desperately needed” at a time when industrial activity is in decline.
Caputo made the remarks last Wednesday while defending his economic plan, pointing to growth in the energy, mining, agriculture, and knowledge sectors even as local manufacturing faces one of its worst downturns in recent years.
According to consultancy firms, manufacturing dropped 1.8% in the first semester of 2026, with over 26,000 companies shutting down since President Javier Milei took office, including historic ones like tire manufacturer Fate
According to Caputo, criticism of the government over the slump in industrial output overlooks the fact that the sector was already in crisis, despite having received substantial support under previous governments, including energy subsidies and what he called “the subsidies of we the Argentine people,” who had overpaid “like fools” for its products.
