Politics & Diplomacy

His career in public service and diplomacy has been distinguished by a focus on productive development, foreign trade and international economic relations.

He was selected as National Director of Foreign Trade in 1991 through a competitive, merit-based process. He later served as Undersecretary of Industry (1992) and, subsequently, as Secretary of Industry of Argentina (1993).

In those positions, he promoted policies aimed at productive modernization, SME development, investment and industrial competitiveness.

In 1996, he was appointed Argentina’s Economic and Commercial Representative in Washington, D.C., with the rank of Ambassador and Secretary of State. He left that position in 1997 after being elected Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

He returned to diplomacy as Argentina’s Ambassador to Brazil (2016–2019), appointed by President Mauricio Macri with the unanimous approval of the Senate. From Brasília, he worked on the bilateral relationship, productive integration, and coordination between governments and businesses.

Measures adopted while serving at the public sector,
in force for decades

Automotive Regime

Designed to overcome the problem of the standard industrial plant in Argentina (small size on a world scale combined with a production mix too open), it multiplied local production and exports – especially to Brazil, a country with a particular trade agreement with Argentina. It attracted numerous new investment in the automotive sector and the return of brands that left the country during previous economic crisis (Toyota, General Motors, Fiat) The domestic market went from 90,000 to 500,000 units.

Creation of the Under Secretariat of Small and Medium Enterprises

It was established to design a specific regulatory framework to support this sector of activity. The Undersecretariat drafted and sent to Congress the first integrated legal body with financial provisions (see below), tax, labor and technology regulations for small and medium enterprises.

Establishment of regional delegations at the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI)

National System of Standards, Quality and Certification

Provision of infrastructure for standardization and accreditation to promote voluntary certification of products, services, processes and quality systems of companies with the aim of improving the access of Argentine products to new markets in compliance with international regulations

Capital Goods

The elimination of import duties and a tax refund system for local capital goods manufacturers was established with the goal of lowering the costs of capital goods and stimulate the restructuring, competitiveness and equipment of the industrial sector.

Subsidy on the interest rate for small and medium enterprises

The scheme adopted consisted of a system of bonus on interest rates offered by the private financial entitites that participated in the program. In basic terms, the Treasury takes charge of four percentage points of the interest rate that SMEs must pay for credits taken for investment, working capital, capital goods and technology acquisition and export financing.