An interesting Variety article by GoodAirs pal Charles Newberry examines a curious new front in the K government move to increase exports by (micro)managing imports: a plan to require those Hollywood studios that want to show their films in Argentina to export a corresponding number of Argentine films or TV series. Such a plan opens up that great can of worms known as "unintended consequences." Sure, it seems like studios would want access to the Argentine market, but what if they decided it wasn't worth it economically if they had to take a bath on exporting films that didn't sell? Would Argentine suddenly not get films from, say, Sony? Or would the studios follow the time-honored tradition of providing the government with exorbitant (and fake) invoices showing exports that they never really made? A few choice bits from the story below:

Argentina hopes to extend trade tariffs to persuade U.S. majors who bring films into the country for exhibition to export Argentinean content abroad, including films and TV series. ... Liliana Mazure, prexy of the Incaa national film board, suggested each major would have to export four to five Argentine features a year and a number of TV series. A price for films and series would be set for each territory, with payments made upfront and not based on results.