Buenos Aires, January 20 (NA) -- Although this Thursday the elimination of tariffs on mobile phone imports will come into effect, prices in the local market will not undergo major modifications and will remain considerably higher than abroad. According to a Clarín survey, phones in Argentina will cost up to twice as much as in the United States and more than 60% more expensive than in Chile. The official measure aims to improve competitiveness, but the sector warns that other structural costs persist—such as internal taxes, exchange rate, and logistics—that prevent prices from equalizing with international ones. Prices for specific models also differ significantly. For example, the iPhone 17 Pro Max (256 GB) in Argentina is priced at US$ 2,229 (approx. $2.6 million), while in Chile it is US$ 1,757 (approx. $1,799,999). In the mid-range segment, the gap narrows: the Motorola Moto G35 5G in Argentina is priced at $399,999 (US$ 270), compared to US$ 256 in Chile. Therefore, it will continue to be cheaper to acquire technology by crossing the mountains. Main distributors explained to the morning newspaper that they will not lower their prices this week because they anticipated the announcement. At MacStation, an official Apple distributor, they stated: "The removal of tariffs was already factored into the launch prices of the iPhone 17... It is not necessary to apply reductions at this time." In the same vein, representatives from Maximstore indicated that "in some categories, we anticipated the drops because we know the replacement cost will be lower," although they clarified that the measure impacts corporate purchases more than individual consumers.
