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29 AutoData | March 2018 ABOVE R$ 2 According to data from the MDIC in 2017 the value exported by the Brazilian automotive industry to Argentina reached US$ 6.5 billion while imports totaled just over US$ 3.5 billion. In a simplistic ac- count, the average was about US$ 1.85, already reasonably distant from US$1,50. In volumes, Brazil exported almost 554 thousand units to Argentina last year- more than 70% of its total shipments - while imports there were 140 thousand 600 units, also according to the MDIC. For Felipe Rovera, director of PDC, Process Development Corporation and former president of GM Argentina and Adefa, “there is a great imbalance of the volume produced in Brazil and Argentina. Around here there are projections of four million units, while there we talk about BRAZIL Companies Companies Factories difference in the size of the two countries, for example, both in production volume and domestic market, creates fissures in this relationship (see tables). Although the established rules provide for free trade in both countries, this abys- mal difference led in 2015 to the so-called flex, a formula that tries to level this balan- ce: for every US$ 1 that Argentina exports to the Brazilian market in vehicles and auto parts Brazil can export US$ 1,50 free of taxes. Scheduled to last only one year, in 2016 the rule was extended to 2020. That, however, was not enough. The Argentine government claims that several companies are disobeying this calculation and recently indicated that the country intends to individually charge, in addition to the relative taxes, fines to repress this practice. FCA Ford General Motors Honda Iveco Mercedes-Benz Nissan PSA Peugeot Citroën Scania Toyota Volkswagen AGCO Agrale Audi BMW CAOA Caterpillar CNH Industrial DAF FCA Ford General Motors Honda HPE (Mitsubushi) Hyundai International Jaguar Land Rover John Deere Komatsu MAN Mercedes-Benz Nissan PSA Peugeot Citroën Renault Scania Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Source: Anfavea and Adefa