Argentina will enforce new restrictions on consumer goods' imports by February in an effort to remedy its retreating trade surplus, according to a resolution published by the Revenue Office.

The new regime will require importers to file a sworn statement of planned imports to the tax agency “prior to the issuing of the request, purchase order, or similar document used for completing overseas purchasing operations.”

The statement will be checked by the correct authorities for an unspecified amount of time Officials will then give their consent or refusal to the person making the import application.

In the first 11 months of 2011 imports in the country had climbed 33 percent to $67.99bn from the same period in 2010, while the overall trade balance dropped by 13 percent, official data showed.