The agreement signed Thursday in Washington advances President Javier Milei’s push to reduce Argentina’s protectionism and the Trump administration’s goal of lowering food prices for Americans, the Associated Press reported.
Argentina’s foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer signed the trade and investment agreement, according to the report. The deal is described as one that eases restrictions on each other’s goods, with officials framing it as both a step toward closer commercial ties and a practical move for consumers.
For Argentina, the agreement also aligns with Milei’s effort to rebuild the country’s standing after years of financial turmoil. The report said the tariff cuts and market-access promises come after Trump offered Milei a $20 billion credit line last year as markets roiled, a move the story links to Milei’s decision to avoid a currency devaluation and to win a decisive midterm election victory.
Quirno said Thursday that Argentina sent what he described as a clear signal to the world, writing on social media that “Today Argentina sent a clear signal to the world” and that the country is “a reliable partner, open to trade and committed to clear rules, predictability and strategic cooperation.” The statement was presented in the AP report as both a message to international markets and a continuation of Milei’s approach to align foreign policy more closely with Washington.
Under the deal, Argentina will scrap trade barriers on more than 200 categories of U.S. goods, including chemicals, machinery and medical devices, the foreign ministry said. For more politically sensitive categories—such as vehicles, live cattle and dairy products—the AP report said the agreement allows entry tariff-free under government quotas, a structure that aims to manage domestic industry concerns while expanding access for imports.
On the U.S. side, Argentina’s foreign ministry said the United States will eliminate reciprocal tariffs on 1,675 Argentine products, projecting more than $1 billion in increased government export revenue. The AP report said the exact product list remained unclear, but that the White House indicated it would include “unavailable natural resources” and ingredients used for pharmaceuticals, after Argentina agreed to strengthen its patchwork intellectual property protections.
The deal also includes provisions that do not fully satisfy some Argentine industrial expectations. The AP report said the U.S. promised to review its 50% taxes on Argentine steel and aluminum imports, rather than eliminating the tariff outright. It also said the agreement signals the U.S. is quadrupling its current import of Argentine beef at a lower tariff rate, to 100,000 tons per year.
The tariff and quota changes could renew political and economic arguments in Washington, particularly around beef imports. The AP report said Democratic and Republican lawmakers have previously questioned the political logic of the $20 billion credit line tied to Milei, and it cited U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren—ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee—who appealed Thursday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to end what she characterized as a bailout.
The AP report also noted that critics have pointed to the difficulty of Argentina delivering immediate economic rewards to the U.S. given Argentina’s long isolation from the global economy. It described the agreement as reflecting the broader political alliance between Milei and Donald Trump, even as the trade negotiations unfold amid scrutiny of Trump’s tariffs more broadly, including issues that have reached the U.S. Supreme Court.