Aerolineas Argentinas was fully involved in the international door to door business, and is doing so with a very ambitious proposal to fight other giants of the courier sector, such as DHL, FedEx or UPS.With two daily flights for the Buenos Aires-Miami route, the advantages offered by the flag company mark a differential that puts all the competition in the cargo segment on alert.But the Airlines initiative not only concerns logistics companies. His incursion in the door to door is also igniting the warning lights between the industries and sector chambers, which see it as a new threat in a context of strong fall of the internal market.After the last regulatory changes of the AFIP, it is now possible to make five annual purchases abroad per person through the "courier" regime, which works in parallel to the door to door offered by the official mail. Each shipment can weigh up to 50 kilos and for an amount of up to US $ 3,000 (see infographic).The turnaround that Aerolíneas gave to this system allows each Argentinean to make the most of this quota.It happens that the company rented a warehouse near the airport in Miami so that each user can send there all purchases made through different online portals in the United States for a month and no storage cost.To do this, it has just enabled an online site in which, when registering, the user receives a unique code that must be entered in each operation through an ecommerce platform, be it Amazon, eBay or others.With this code, the consumer ensures that all their purchases arrive in their name to the Aerolíneas deposit, with the possibility of continuing to do "virtual shopping" until they reach 50 kilos in weight or the aforementioned US $ 3,000.The system is designed so that the customer receives various alerts, for example, if it is about to exceed the limit or if they are about to expire the 30 days during which there is no need to pay the cost of the deposit service.The logistic circuit closes with the oiled structure that Aerolineas Argentinas has through Jet Paq, present in more than 30 locations in the main cities of the country and that allows deliveries in less than 72 hours and without making a single customs paperwork.Complaints from industrialists and tradersAlthough from the company they assure that they do not intervene in the decisions of purchase of the users, yes they recognize that in this stage the service is being used with greater frequency to bring technology of high value. In addition, they consider that there are many who will take advantage of the large liquidations of clothes that in each season make brands and malls in Miami.While Aerolíneas intends to give more visibility to its new door to door, in the industry there is growing concern about the impact it may have on the productive fabric.The current exchange rate and the customs taxes that are applied to purchases determine that there are more convenient categories than others when passing the card and purchasing an item in Miami.Laptops, for example, have a much lower tax burden than cell phones, clothes and shoes. This means that prices abroad are much more competitive than in the local market.However, the same concern is latent. With such a depressed domestic market, any minimal threat of increased competition only ignites new alarms on the business board."I do not believe that it is an opportune moment to advance with this type of measures", emphasize sources of the Argentine Confederation of the Medium Company (CAME)."Retail sales are still in decline, with 17 consecutive months of negative variation, and in this context, encouraging imports is worrisome, because any percentage that is lost affects, even more so, when the cake is shrinking", says the manager. , who adds that "the textile and footwear sector are among the hardest hit."Electronics companies, on alertOne of the areas targeted by this service is that of high-value electronics. This includes everything from high-end notebooks to televisions, to top-of-the-range smartphones.Although tariffs and the cost of freight will be the variables that will determine how convenient it is to acquire a product in Miami and bring it via Aerolineas Argentinas, for entrepreneurs any incentive to "microimportation" is a clear focus of threat."The changes in the regulations increased the chances that an item that was previously bought within the country will now be brought in. This obviously is not good for us who produce technology in Argentina, with a domestic market that is so resentful" the manager of one of the firms that manufactures devices for top brands in Tierra del Fuego.The threat to some companies is concrete. Among the first affected appear Apple premium resellers operating in the country.That is, the chains that have official license of the company co-founded by Steve Jobs, which can be seriously damaged with door to door. It is not for less:- An iPhone XS 64 GB is offered in a Buenos Aires store at $ 112,500, which represents almost $ 2,450.- That same device is achieved in an online platform in the United States less than half: u $ s1,000- Adding internal taxes of that country and logistical costs of the shipment, will end in u $ s1,680 (with the advantage of receiving it at home and in less than 72 hours)- The difference in favor of door-to-door is US $ 770 which, at the official exchange rate, represents more than $ 35,000Another case, more eloquently:- In Argentina, a Macbook Pro Touch Bar i7 with 512 GB of capacity sells for $ 204,000, which represents about $ 4,463- In Miami, you get for $ 2,570. Added taxes and logistics costs for $ 405, will end costing just under US $ 3,000.- The difference, again in favor of door to door, is $ 66,800"This complicates us, what we have in favor is that we can offer some fees without interest and the client knows that if he has a technical problem he can solve it easily", is the answer that the manager of one of the main places with the logo of the Apple.However, the price gaps are so wide that all Apple-licensed stores in the country are analyzing how to deal with this "tsunami". It is not for less: in many cases, door-to-door competition makes it meaningless to offer products that cost up to 50% more in retail.In the case of brands that are produced locally, no marked gaps are observed. Even Samsung phones may cost less in Argentina than "microimporting" them.The manager of the signature fueguina clarifies that "we are better positioned than in other times, because we have managed to maintain prices, given that much work was done in the sectorial competitiveness in these last two years".However, he makes it clear that "any sign of import opening disturbs us".From the industrial sector of that province warn that the first quarter was "terrible" in terms of sales, and now the expectations are put that the Now 12, which has just been relaunched, help to pull.Even so, due to such a weak start, the businessmen expect to end the year with a sharp drop in production. "We keep the same projections we had at the start of the year, which are low," he assures iProUP. These expectations are the following:- Cell phones: the brands aim to manufacture only 7.5 million pieces of equipment throughout the year. They are 500,000 units below the previous period and the worst performance since 2010- Televisions: aim to produce 2.5 million LED, about 800,000 less than in 2018. If fulfilled, it will be the worst record in more than a decadeAnother problem: lack of traceabilityIn the industry of Tierra del Fuego they recognize that, with the constant economic or even tax swings, a change in the equation could accelerate the entry of products."What worries us a lot is that there is no traceability, any equipment can be entered without informing the brand and model, which, for statistical purposes, is worrisome, because there is no way of knowing to what extent it affects local production" , says the manager of the company, who asks for strict off the record."It's serious because nobody is going to keep track of everything that comes in. This does not allow companies to monitor and make business decisions, the sector raised it with the AFIP, but there were no answers," he adds.In parallel, CAME criticize the fact that the flag company is focused on promoting imports: "It would be much more useful to provide more logistical tools to empower regional economies."A similar reading is drawn by Raúl Zylbersztein, general secretary of the Confederación Empresaria de la República Argentina (CGERA). In dialogue with iProUP, the leader of the SME sector affirms that "it is a nonsense that the producers of the provinces are not encouraged to go out into the world, taking advantage of the advantages of electronic commerce and the potential of a flag carrier"."I should be thinking about how a Catamarca producer, via the web, can sell their ponchos in London, but we should encourage exports, but instead, they encourage more Argentines to bring in things from outside. the industry is a real problem, "he says.The executive adds that for the most sensitive sectors - such as textiles and footwear - this measure "complicates things even more", given the level of crisis they face.To put it in context, from the Argentine Industrial Chamber of Clothing (CIAI) warn that clothing production in Argentina plummeted almost 20% in March compared to the same month last year, while in yarns and fabrics -principal input for the sector- fell by 17% in the same period."This collapse of the national production of garments brought the closure of factories and productive establishments, numerous cases of call for creditors and the destruction of registered private salaried employment," they say from the entity. And they warn that in twelve months they lost more than 3,500 positions in this branch of activity.In general, the customs tariffs balance the balance in favor of Argentina in the clothing and footwear segments. But businessmen fear that, as soon as a new "megaliquidation" is launched in Miami, the door-to-door will be the way to get clothing at a price.