Milei's Argentina inks trade, investment deal with Trump's United States

President Javier Milei’s government announced Thursday that it had signed a reciprocal trade and investment agreement with the United States.

The deal will open up Argentina’s domestic market to US products in exchange for tariff relief on some exports. 

Back in November, both nations had announced a “framework agreement,” which set out general guidelines but did not include specific details.

"We have just signed the Reciprocal Trade and Investment Agreement between Argentina and the United States," Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno wrote in a post on the X social network.

Quirno thanked his team and US authorities "for building this great agreement together" and concluded that "Argentina will be prosperous!”

The government said the deal would give domestic beef producers "unprecedented" access to the US market.

According to a statement from the President’s Office, the agreement will "reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, facilitate trade in goods and services, modernise customs procedures and promote investment in strategic sectors such as energy, critical minerals, infrastructure and technology.”

The framework agreement announced last November 13 provided for preferential access to US products such as medicines, chemicals, machinery, information technology, medical devices, motor vehicles and agricultural products.

Washington will eliminate reciprocal tariffs "on certain unavailable natural resources and non-patented products for pharmaceutical applications," the US Embassy in Argentina said at the time. 

The fine print of the deal remains unknown for now. The document signed Thursday had not been published at press time.

Argentina had a total trade surplus with the United States in 2025 (US$8.338 billion in exports and US$6.704 billion in imports).

 

Known details

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry in Buenos Aires claimed the United States "will eliminate reciprocal tariffs on 1,675 Argentine products  … permitting exports worth US$1.013 billion to be recovered."

In addition, it "will grant an unprecedented increase from 20,000 to 100,000 tonnes for preferential access of beef to its market," which "will allow Argentine exports of this product to increase by nearly US$800 million."

Washington has also "reaffirmed its commitment to review tariffs on steel and aluminium in a timely manner," said Argentina.

The agreement will be sent to Congress for consideration, said the Foreign Ministry. Milei’s critics claim the deal is imbalanced in Washington's favour.

The sweeping agreement involves a “reduction of tariffs and includes the elimination or lowering of tariffs and regulatory barriers, granting the United States preferential access to key sectors such as machinery, technology, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.”

In the agricultural sector, it stipulates that “Argentina will allow the entry of live cattle and poultry from the United States, simplifying sanitary procedures, while both countries improve bilateral access for beef.”

In mining and energy, it seeks to “promote investment in natural resources, particularly critical minerals.”

With regard to “digital trade and data, Argentina will recognise the United States as an adequate jurisdiction for data transfers and will avoid discrimination against US digital services.”

 

Strategic alliance

The Foreign Ministry statement described the agreement as consolidating the strategic alliance with a United States which “already has over 330 companies operating in our country.”

The initiative “positions Argentina as the first South American country to sign an agreement of this magnitude among a select group of countries with preferential access to the US market,” the Ministry boasted, “promoting a more balanced association with the world’s main economy and biggest importer.” 

“This framework improves our country’s insertion in supply chains, generating new opportunities via the increased export of products already being traded and favouring the opening of new markets thanks to better conditions of access,” the statement continued.

US financial assistance from its EXIM Bank and its Development Financing Corporation is also pledged to fund investments into critical sectors in Argentina in collaboration with the US private sector.  

Argentina, for its part, will eliminate the tariffs on 221 items including machinery, transport material, medical equipment and chemical products while reducing by two percent 20 other items, mainly auto parts, while granting quotas for vehicles, meat and other farm produce.

“These commitments aim at improving the systemic competitiveness via the reduction or elimination of tariffs on inputs and capital goods while simplifying procedures and thus guaranteeing more predictable conditions for the sectors involved,” the statement went on. 

“This instrument is not limited to merchandise trade, incorporating provisions for digital commerce and establishing a safe and favourable framework for the activities of startups, fintechs and tech firms. Our country further commits itself to adopting the most modern international standards in terms of intellectual property, removing bureaucracy from this sector to widen the opportunities of Argentine talent to promote innovation,” pledged the Ministry. 

The statement concluded: “This Agreement forms part of a strategy of international insertion by Argentina, including the Mercosur agreements with EFTA and the European Union, which seek to broaden and diversify trade, attract productive investments and consolidate the country’s integration into the main global value chains. All in all, these instruments boost Argentina’s export profile, increase trade and generate better conditions for the arrival of long-term investments.”

 

Critical minerals
The announcement came just a day after both nations signed a framework agreement for the supply of critical minerals. 

The agreement establishes that both countries will promote "grants, guarantees, loans and capital investments to boost mining and processing projects" and that "measures to streamline the permit application process" will be implemented, the US Embassy in Argentina said on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said Wednesday that Argentina has all the necessary capabilities to become a producer of rare earth minerals.

Minerals and rare earths have become a critical sector for the manufacture of technological products, from telephones to computers and satellites. Trump's government has made the search for these resources one of its key foreign economic policy objectives.

Argentine mining exports reached a record US$6.037 billion in 2025, with year-on-year growth of close to 30 percent. Over the next seven years, the nation wants total exports to reach US$100 billion, potentially bringing in as much as US$20 billion per year.

 

‘MA&AGA’

President Milei reposted the announcement on his Twitter account with the inscription "MA&AGA" – a reference to the slogan "make Argentina and America great again."

Milei has forged close ties with the United States and President Donald Trump since taking office in December 2023. 

Last October, Argentina received a US$20-billion financial aid package from Washington to calm a currency crisis ahead of that month’s midterm elections, which Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party won. 

Argentina was one of four countries in South and Central America, along with Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador, that struck “framework” deals with Washington in November in return for lower tariffs.

Trump's administration argued the accords would help reduce the grocery bills of US citizens by driving down the price of coffee, cocoa and bananas, among other goods.

The deals were also seen as a reward for Trump's most loyal allies in the United States' backyard, including Milei and El Salvador's Nayib Bukele.

 

– TIMES/AFP/NA