The 170-page ruling released on Friday is likely further to inflame Argentina’s relations with the US and other large economies. But it also comes at a time when the government of Cristina Fernández is struggling to find a resolution to its debt woes.

 

The focus of the case brought by the EU, US and Japan in 2012 was a series of strict rules on imports and the flow of capital that Buenos Aires introduced in an effort to balance its trade with the outside world.

 

The measures, which drew the ire of foreign investors, included requirements that all imports are balanced by exports and accompanied by investments into the country. Argentina imposed limits on the volume and price of imports and bans on foreign companies repatriating funds to their home countries as well.

 

Mike Froman, US trade representative, called Friday’s decision by the WTO a victory for “fairness” and “openness” in the global economy.

 

“This is a big win,” he told reporters.

 

Argentina has 60 days to decide whether to appeal the WTO ruling.

 

Karel De Gucht, the EU’s trade commissioner, said the case sent an “important signal that protectionism is not acceptable”.

 

“I call on Argentina to move quickly to comply with the ruling of the WTO panel and remove these illegal measures, and open the way for EU goods to compete fairly on the Argentinian market,” he said.

 

Argentina filed a series of retaliatory cases against the EU and US after they brought their complaints in 2012 just months after the nationalisation by Buenos Aires of the local operations of Spanish energy giant Repsol.

 

A US trade official said on Friday that it was in discussions with Buenos Aires over how to resolve one of those cases, which deals with US lemon exports. The US, the official said, is still awaiting a ruling on another case involving alleged US barriers to imports of Argentine beef.

 

Fausto Spotorno, chief economist at OJF, a consultancy in Buenos Aires, said that if Argentina decides to appeal, sanctions would not be applied until October next year at the earliest, when presidential elections are due. This would allow Ms Fernandez to leave the problem for the next administration to solve.

 

Nevertheless, Argentina’s main problem will remain its shortage of dollars. 

 

Unable to borrow on the international capital markets because of the dispute with its so-called “holdout” creditors, which triggered last month’s default, Argentina relies on exports to finance its imports. But faced with a growing energy deficit and falling prices of soya, Argentina’s principal export, the government is restricting imports, which is aggravating a recession.

 

“Argentina is simply not capable of opening up its imports radically from one day to the next. It would trigger a crisis,” said Mauricio Claverí, a trade specialist at abeceb.com, a consultancy in Buenos Aires. He pointed out that Argentina would have to open up imports to other trade partners that have not filed complaints at the WTO such as Brazil and China.

 

The trade dispute with the US “may not be Argentina’s biggest problem, but it adds one more dimension to the shortage of dollars that they already have, which is going to get worse next year,” said Mr Spotorno.