BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina and the United States agreed Thursday to ease restrictions on each other's goods in an expansive trade deal that boosts a drive by President Javier Milei to open up Argentina's protectionist economy and a push by the Trump administration to reduce food prices for Americans.
The deal, which slashes hundreds of reciprocal tariffs between the countries, also reflects the importance of Milei's ideological loyalty to U.S. President Donald Trump, even as the chronically distressed South American nation long isolated from the global economy has little to offer Washington in the way of economic reward or geopolitical clout.
Argentina's radical libertarian leader has gone to dramatic lengths to prove his devotion to Trump, reshaping his country's foreign policy to align with the U.S. and championing Trump's increasingly aggressive interventions in the Western Hemisphere. Milei has traveled to the U.S. at least a dozen times since entering office and plans to visit Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida again next week.
The efforts have paid off. Last year as market turmoil threatened to derail Milei's free-market overhaul and drain Argentina's foreign currency reserves ahead of a crucial midterm election, Trump offered his ally a $20 billion credit line. Milei avoided a currency devaluation and won a decisive victory in the election that sent markets rallying.
A trade deal between ideological allies
On Thursday Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said they signed the trade and investment agreement in Washington.
After imposing sweeping tariffs on its trading partners, the Trump administration changed its tune last November in announcing framework deals with four Latin American countries, including Argentina.
The White House argued that the reduction of tariffs on Argentine beef and Ecuadorian bananas, among other imports, would improve the ability of American firms to sell products abroad and relieve rising prices for American consumers. The announcement also came as Trump's steep tariffs drew scrutiny from the Supreme Court.
Argentina on Thursday became the first of the four countries to finalize its agreement with Washington. Quirno hailed it as a milestone not only in Argentina's alliance with the U.S., but also in Milei's campaign to rebuild the serial defaulter's reputation.
"Today Argentina sent a clear signal to the world," he wrote on social media. "We are a reliable partner, open to trade and committed to clear rules, predictability and strategic cooperation."
Concessions could revive criticism
Argentina will scrap trade barriers on more than 200 categories of goods from the U.S., including chemicals, machinery and medical devices, its foreign ministry said. More politically sensitive imports, like vehicles, live cattle and dairy products, will enter the country tariff-free under government quotas.
Those are key concessions as Argentine industries long protected by steep tariffs fret about their ability to compete with American manufacturers. Already domestic producers have seen their sales drop as Milei opens the economy to an onslaught of cheap Chinese products.
Washington, for its part, will eliminate reciprocal tariffs on 1,675 Argentine products, Argentina's Foreign Ministry said, increasing government export revenue by over $1 billion. The exact product list remained unclear but the White House said it included "unavailable natural resources" and ingredients for pharmaceutical goods, after Argentina agreed to improve its patchwork intellectual property protections.
The U.S. also promised to review its 50% taxes on Argentine steel and aluminum imports — a disappointment to manufacturers in Argentina who expected the trade agreement to eliminate the crippling tariff outright. The deal also shows the U.S. quadrupling the current amount of Argentine beef it imports at a lower tariff rate to 100,000 tons per year.
An influx of Argentine beef
An influx of Argentine beef could reignite criticism from cattle ranchers and Republican lawmakers who voiced outrage last October when Trump first floated plans to increase imports of Argentine beef to bring prices down.
The move followed Trump administration's $20 billion lifeline and direct purchases of Argentina's dollar-denominated bonds that ratings agencies were classifying as "junk" and of its depreciating currency that investors were dumping in droves.
The backlash was immediate. Trump's MAGA base questioned the need to bail out a far-flung country that has never been a natural U.S. trade partner: The two countries export many of the same things, directly competing in markets of soy, corn, wheat, meat and oil.
Democratic lawmakers were furious that Trump was staking taxpayer money on a political gift to an friend.
That criticism continues, with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, appealing Thursday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to end the $20 billion bailout.
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