The Argentinean government has been forced to bring in austerity measures including new taxes on exports as it battles an economic crisis.

President Mauricio Macri said this week that tariffs will be introduced on all exports including steel in a bid to reduce the percentage of products being exported.

The tariff will vary between primary products and finished products, with the tax higher on the former.

Mr Macri said in an address to the nation: "We know that it is a bad tariff, very bad, that goes against what we want to encourage, which is more exports to encourage more work. But I have to ask [you] to understand that it is an emergency and we need your input."

The government is also to cut its ministries by 50 per cent and decrease public spending by four per cent in a bid to advance the fiscal deficit reduction to zero by 2019.

This week's news comes after a stronger US dollar forced up Argentina's debt repayments and economic weakness put pressure on the Argentinean peso. The rate of inflation was forced up to 30 per cent and the central bank responded with the highest interest rates in the world.

Farmers there are also struggling with the worst drought to hit the nation in ten years.