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39 AutoData | October 2018 petitiveness, the sector was displeased by federal measures that try to contribute to fiscal balance. The Argentine government reduced export refunds in Mercosur: companies received 6.5% over the value they expor- ted to Brazil, and since August this rate has fallen to 2%. And it also overcharged shipments of manufactured goods at 3 pesos per dollar. Adefa met with Dante Sica, Minister of Production, to express his concern about the impact of measures on production and foreign trade. Hernán Vázquez, presi- dent of Volkswagen Argentina, was clear: “Taking into account the export profile of the Argentine industry these measures will affect the production and, consequently, are opposed to the 1 million Plan.» Cristiano Rattazzi, main executive of FCA Argentina, went further: “There is no doubt that Argentina is again surprised by abrupt changes in the economic cycle. Unfortunately the urgencies have led to measures withwhich no government feels comfortablewith, like the return of taxation on exports”. YELLOW LIGHT Recent measures and the government’s own assertion that Argentina is in economic recession, added to high inflation rates, have definitely turned on thewarning lights for the automotive sector. In the opposite way of the initial ex- pectations, the performance continues to push the industry’s numbers down. Some companies already hold technical stoppa- ges at their factories and have announced suspensions for the staff, as a rotation sys- tem, to adjust stocks. One way or another the situationwill affect all factories, except Toyota, at least until the end of the year - and in some cases it may be extended until March 2019. The stoppage, naturally, will end up being reproduced by the suppliers. Pablo Camacho, manager of the Chamber of Production Export Market The Argentine drama (thousand) 473,8 209,6 901 565 300 945 500 280 810 500 550 280 310 700 750 2017 2018 initial 2018 now Projeção 2019 Source: Adefa and executives.