Doing Business in Argentina

Even the smallest of US businesses competes in a shrinking global village, where understanding subtle cultural contexts can make or break sales and marketing efforts. This excerpt from the book Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries, offers insight into doing business in Argentina.

Language

• Spanish is the official language, although it is heavily influenced by Italian and unlike Spanish spoken anywhere else on the continent.

Appointments

• Visitors are expected to be punctual. However, do not be surprised if your Argentine counterpart is late. In general, the more important the person, the more likely it is that he or she will keep you waiting.
  
• Note that social occasions have different rules. Even North Americans are expected to be thirty to sixty minutes late for dinner or parties; to show up on time would be impolite. But be on time for lunch and for events with a scheduled starting time, such as the theater.
  
• Argentine executives may put in a very long day, often lasting until 10 p.m. An 8 p.m. business meeting is not at all unusual.

Negotiating

• Argentina is a highly bureaucratic and litigious country, one reason the pace of negotiations is usually slower than in the United States. Until an entire contract is signed, each portion is subject to renegotiation. Personal relationships are far more important than corporate ones.

Business Entertaining

• Business meals are popular and are usually held in restaurants. Business lunches are uncommon outside of Buenos Aires, since most people go home to eat lunch. Argentines do not usually discuss business over meals.
  
• Avoid pouring wine, if possible. There are several complex taboos about wine pouring, which foreigners can unknowingly violate. For example, pouring with the left hand is a major insult, pouring wine backward into a glass indicates hostility, and so on.
  
• Remember that the taxes on imported liquors are enormous. When you are invited out, your host will be paying, so don't order imported liquors unless your host does so first.
  
• To indicate that you are finished eating and have had enough, cross your knife and fork (with the prongs down) on your dinner plate.

Protocol

• Except when greeting close friends, it is traditional to shake hands briefly and nod to both men and women.

Gestures

• The Argentine people converse at a closer distance than US citizens are used to - often with a hand on the other person's lapel or shoulder. Restrain yourself from trying to back away; an Argentine will probably close the distance.
  
• Maintaining eye contact is very important - something that North Americans may find difficult at such close quarters.

Dress

• While Argentines are more in touch with European clothing styles than many Latin Americans, they tend toward conservative business dress: dark suits and ties for men; white blouses and dark suits or skirts for women.

Gifts

• Avoid giving knives; they symbolize the severing of a friendship. If you are invited to an Argentine home, bring a gift of flowers, imported chocolates, or whiskey. Bird-of-paradise flowers are highly prized.