Perspectives on Business and Economics, Vol. 39, 2021 88 Introduction The strained relationship between Argentina and the UK is centered primarily around approximately 12,000 km2 of land 480 km from the southern tip of Argentina.1 These islands are known as the Falklands by the British and Las Malvinas by the Argentines; to avoid the politically charged names, many refer to them simply as the Islands. The ownership dispute, dating from 1833, has hindered Argentina and the UK from having a truly respectful relationship. The Islands are home to approximately 3000 UK citizens. The inhabitants’ livelihoods depend mainly on the fishing industry, contributing 45% to 64% of their annual GDP (MercoPress, 2021). However, the economic contribution of the Islands is insignificant compared to the GDPs of Argentina and the UK, 1Basic factual information has been drawn from Encyclopaedia Britannica. making up 0.06% relative to Argentina’s GDP and 0.01% of the UK’s (World Bank, 2021). The recent timing of three simultaneous forces creates an opportune moment to resolve this nearly two-century dispute. The first stems from an uncertain climate for international investments in—and trade from—the Islands, created by the dual threat of lack of clarity in resource extraction rights in international law for disputed territories combined with the unpredictable future of the oil industry. Second, as of January 31, 2020, the UK no longer is part of the EU. Brexit forced the UK to renegotiate relations with the world, bringing the UK and Argentina to the table to address a wide swath of issues far more substantive than the Islands. Additionally, with Brexit, all UK territories lost their favorable EU trading status; indeed, all UK territories have been left out of EU negotiations (Walker, 2021; Taglioni, 2020). Without those trading rights, the Islands’ main industry, fishing, could be heavily affected (Cavallone, 2021). While UK territories must negotiate THE ARGENTINA–UK ISLANDS DISPUTE Maria M. Lancia The Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas sovereignty dispute has created an unstable relationship between Argentina and the UK for almost two centuries. Current geopolitical and economic conditions, including the hydrocarbon industry’s volatility, trade renegotiations necessitated by Brexit combined with the EU-Mercosur agreement, and international pressures, are optimal for warming bilateral ties and bringing this sovereignty dispute to an end. This article outlines a solution that allows the two nations to come together to form an agreement.
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