U.S. Government Reaches Trade Agreement With Argentina

The U.S. government and the government of Argentina have reached a trade agreement.

On Feb. 5, Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced that they had signed a deal that will require the government of Argentina eliminate trade barriers on more than 200 categories of U.S. goods, including chemicals, machinery, and medical devices and allow other products like automobiles to enter the country tariff-free under government quotas.

For its part, the U.S. government agreed to review its 50 percent tariffs on Argentine steel and aluminum imports and to eliminate Trump administration reciprocal tariffs on 1,675 Argentine products.

Other key terms of the agreement are that the government of Argentina will:

• Address potential distortionary actions that state-owned enterprises or industrial subsidies may have on the bilateral trading relationship;
• Work with the United States to establish deeper economic security cooperation, including on combatting unfair trade practices of third countries, export controls, investment security, and protecting the integrity of information and communications technology infrastructure;
• Ensure fair access for U.S. firms to its significant critical minerals resources;
• Prohibit the importation of goods produced by forced or compulsory labor, and strengthen protections for internationally recognized labor rights;
• Allow access for U.S. poultry and poultry products, within one year, and simplify regulations for U.S. beef and pork exporters;
• Continue to improve enforcement against counterfeit and pirated goods, including in the online environment;
• Allow U.S. companies to use U.S. or international standards for imports of goods made in the United States, without extra conformity assessment requirements or burdensome regulations;
• Recognize the United States as an adequate jurisdiction under Argentine law for the cross-border transfer of data, including personal data;
• Will not impose customs duties on electronic transmissions or digital services taxes and refrain from discriminating against U.S. digital services or digital products; and
• Remove its consularization requirements for U.S. goods, no longer prohibit express carriers from becoming Authorized Economic Operators, and permit monthly payment for express carriers and implement full pre-arrival processing while protecting the data submitted to its single window.