WIKIMEDIA, SERGIO ANDRES SEGOVIAAt the height of the Argentine summer this year, stores in the South American country were running out of tampons. Scarcity of such a product—one many assume would be on the shelves of any corner store—was but one example of the unintended consequences of an economic policy put into place four years ago. And while these regulations are meant to protect scientists, by carving out exemptions for laboratory supplies, some researchers in Argentina are struggling to get the basic supplies they rely on to do their experiments.
In 2011, as part of an effort to right the foundering economy of Argentina and keep pesos within its borders, officials imposed strict restrictions on importing goods from outside the country. The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Productive Innovation “has its own special channels to arrange research equipment and supplies imports,” press officer Hernán Bongioanni wrote to The Scientist in an e-mail, “therefore there is no impact of import restrictions for the Argentinian scientific community.”
While scientists are technically able to order supplies from abroad without the taxes and limitations tacked onto consumer goods, in a practical sense, the customs regulations have had a very real and negative impact on research.
“With the restrictions the importers are not importing things very fast. Sometimes it takes ...
