Argentina cut its duty on garments and shoes from 35% to 20% and moved label checks from customs to the shops. Here is the tariff, the anti-dumping price on Chinese footwear, the tax stack with a worked example, the label rules and the Paraguayan angle.
Clothing and footwear were among the most protected goods in Argentina: a 35% tariff, minimum reference values that customs used to lift declared prices, non-automatic licences and customs checks on every label. Since 2024 most of that has gone. Decree 236/2025 cut the duty on garments and shoes to 20%, reference values and import licences were abolished, and labelling checks moved from the border to the market.
Two things still need care. Footwear from China remains subject to an anti-dumping measure in the form of a minimum export price per pair. And labels must carry the importer’s tax number, fibre content, origin and care instructions in the Argentine format — now enforced by the consumer authority after sale rather than by customs. The general tax stack is explained in our Argentina customs guide.
| Product | Before April 2025 | After Decree 236/2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing (HS 61–62) | 35% | 20% |
| Footwear (HS 64) | 35% | 20% |
| Fabrics | 26% | 18% |
| Yarns | 18% | 12%, 14% or 16% by type |
Decree 236/2025, published on 31 March 2025, used Argentina’s national exceptions to the Mercosur common external tariff to bring rates back to pre-2007 levels. The cut covers knitted and woven apparel (HS 61 and 62), footwear (HS 64), fabrics and yarns. It does not change VAT or the prepayments, and it does not affect goods of Mercosur origin, which already paid 0%.
Mercosur origin
0% duty and no statistics fee with a certificate of origin.
Reference values
Valores criterio, once used to challenge low declared prices on textiles, were repealed in October 2024; customs now asks for a guarantee on risky declarations instead.
Licences
The SEDI import monitoring system was abolished in February 2025.
Postal imports
Individuals can import up to US$400 per shipment, five shipments a year, free of duty and statistics fee; not a channel for resale.
Law and practice: Decree 236/2025; RG 5582/2024 (reference values); RG Conjunta 5651/2025 (SEDI); Decree 604/2026 (postal regime).
Since 2021, footwear from China under NCM headings 6401 to 6405 has been subject to an anti-dumping duty in the form of a minimum FOB export value of US$15.70 per pair: if the declared FOB price is lower, the importer pays the difference as a duty. A price undertaking was accepted from one exporter. In April 2026, Ministry of Economy Resolution 531/2026 closed a review and kept the measure for finished footwear, while excluding sports footwear imported unassembled in kits with soles or uppers other than natural leather.
Resolution 915/2021 was published on 14 December 2021 and imposed the measure for five years, so it runs to 14 December 2026. The 2026 review changed its scope, not its term. Under the anti-dumping rules a measure can stay in force beyond that date only if an expiry review (examen por expiración) is opened before it lapses; we had not seen one published as of October 2026. Before pricing Chinese footwear for delivery around or after December 2026, check with your broker whether the minimum value still applies on the clearance date.
Law and practice: Resolution 915/2021 (former Ministry of Productive Development; Boletín Oficial, 14 December 2021), art. 9 (five-year term); Ministry of Economy Resolutions 1206/2025 and 531/2026 (Boletín Oficial, 21 April 2026); Decree 33/2025.
| Garments, CIF US$100,000 | Non-Mercosur origin (duty 20%) | Paraguayan origin |
|---|---|---|
| Import duty | 20,000 | 0 |
| Statistics fee 3% | 3,000 | 0 (exempt) |
| VAT 21% | 25,830 | 21,000 |
| Additional VAT prepayment 20% | 24,600 | 20,000 |
| Income tax prepayment 6% | 7,380 | 6,000 |
| Turnover tax prepayment 2.5% | 3,075 | 2,500 |
| Total paid at clearance | 83,885 (84% of CIF) | 49,500 (50% of CIF) |
| Of which pure cost | 23,000 | 0 |
At a 20% duty, Paraguayan-origin garments save 23 points of pure cost against Asian goods — less than the 38 points before 2025, but still decisive in a low-margin business. The prepayments are recoverable but tie up cash: plan to finance about half of the shipment value at clearance even for Mercosur goods.
Law and practice: Illustrative: base for VAT and prepayments taken as CIF plus duty and statistics fee, as in our general Argentina guide.
| Label element | Textiles (Res. SCI 549/2021) | Footwear (Res. SC 465/2018) |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Name or business name and brand of the manufacturer or importer, with CUIT | Name or business name of the manufacturer or importer with CUIT; a registered brand may replace the name |
| Origin | “Hecho en” or “Fabricado en” plus the country; no trade-bloc names or flags | Country of origin |
| Composition | Fibres by name and percentage of mass | Materials of upper, lining and sole |
| Care | Care treatment | — |
| Size | Size or dimensions where applicable | Size |
| Product | — | Brand and model or article |
Labels must be in Spanish. The textile rules apply to garments, home textiles and fabrics sold by the metre; the footwear rules apply to all shoes, with the composition stated separately for the upper, the lining and the sole. Economic-bloc names such as “Made in EU” are not accepted as origin.
Until July 2024, customs checked these labels before releasing imported goods. Resolutions 156/2024 and 159/2024 of the Secretaría de Industria y Comercio removed that border control: goods are now released and the Subsecretaría de Defensa del Consumidor y Lealtad Comercial enforces the labelling rules at market level, with fines under the fair-trading law. The obligation is the same; only the moment of the check has moved. A distributor will expect compliant labels on delivery.
Law and practice: Resolution SCI 549/2021 (textiles); Resolution SC 465/2018 (footwear); Resolutions SIC 156/2024 and 159/2024; Law 22,802 (fair trading).
As with any commercial import, the importer of record is an Argentine company with a CUIT registered in ARCA’s importer register, and a licensed customs broker files the declaration. There is no sectoral registration for apparel or footwear. The label must show the importer’s or brand owner’s CUIT, which in practice ties the goods to a specific Argentine entity before they ship.
Selling to a distributor
The distributor imports, labels and sells; the exporter prices FCA or DAP.
Own company
Needed for a retail brand or e-commerce operation that holds stock in Argentina.
Trademarks
Register the brand in Argentina before launch; counterfeit enforcement at customs depends on it.
Valuation
Related-party prices should be supported; customs can ask for guarantees on declarations it considers risky.
Paraguayan clothing and footwear that meet Mercosur origin rules enter Argentina with 0% duty and no statistics fee; VAT and the prepayments still apply. Paraguay’s special origin regime allows up to 60% non-Mercosur content until 2038, which matters for garments made from imported fabric. Trade is modest but growing: by Paraguay’s figures reported to UN Comtrade, it exported about US$13 million of woven garments (HS 62) to Argentina in 2025, against about US$5 million in 2024, plus US$1.3 million of knitwear and US$0.4 million of footwear.
Maquila production
Garments made under Paraguay’s maquila regime qualify only if the specific origin rule for the product is met; check the rule for HS 61 and 62 before relying on it.
Labels
Must show “Hecho en Paraguay”, fibre content and the Argentine importer’s CUIT; plan the label before production.
Anti-dumping
The minimum price on footwear applies to Chinese origin, not to Paraguayan shoes that meet origin rules.
Transport
Trucks via Clorinda–Puerto Falcón or Posadas–Encarnación reach Buenos Aires in days, without ocean freight.
Law and practice: CMC Decision 06/23 (origin regime for Paraguay).
HS 61, 62, 64 or fabric and yarn lines; current duty after Decree 236/2025.
Chinese footwear: minimum FOB value per pair.
Spanish, CUIT, origin, fibre content or footwear composition, care, size.
CUIT, ARCA importer register, broker.
Mercosur certificate for Paraguayan or Brazilian goods.
Duty, statistics fee, VAT and prepayments before release.
iProfesional: Decree 236/2025 rates · Resolution 915/2021 (footwear anti-dumping) · Resolution 531/2026 (review) · Marval: footwear anti-dumping review · Marval: end of customs label checks · Mendoza consumer authority: textile and footwear labels · CNCE: anti-dumping reform · UN Comtrade: Paraguay exports to Argentina
20% since Decree 236/2025 cut it from 35%, plus a 3% statistics fee; 0% for Mercosur-origin goods.
20%, down from 35%. Chinese footwear also faces a minimum FOB value of US$15.70 per pair as an anti-dumping measure.
It was imposed for five years from 14 December 2021, so it lapses on 14 December 2026 unless an expiry review is opened before then. Check its status on the clearance date.
The manufacturer’s or importer’s name and CUIT, country of origin, fibre content by percentage, care instructions and size, in Spanish.
No. Since July 2024 the consumer authority checks them on the market, but the rules still apply.
No. They were repealed in October 2024; customs now asks for a guarantee on declarations it considers risky.
No, if they meet Mercosur origin rules and carry a certificate; VAT and the prepayments still apply.
About 84% of CIF for non-Mercosur garments at a 20% duty, of which 23 points are pure cost; about 50% for Mercosur goods, all recoverable.
Statistics fee, VAT and three prepayments; FX payment.
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador compared.
Tell us the product, its origin and who will import it. We check tariff, anti-dumping and labelling and set up the importer — fixed quote within one business day.
We use Google Analytics to see which pages help visitors, only if you agree. Security cookies and your choice are always stored. Cookie policy
Tell us what you need. We’ll reply within one business day.
We’ll reply within one business day, by email or WhatsApp.
or message us on WhatsApp
