Argentina and the United States have signed a trade agreement in which our country assumes 113 obligations, while only 8 are mutual duties and 2 are solely for the US. The official document, which was published in English by the US embassy itself, does not include the benefits promised by the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
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U.S. controls will be sufficient for imports
Argentina must allow goods originating in the United States that comply with its technical regulations and evaluation procedures to enter the country without additional reviews.
Thus, approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US equivalent of ANMAT, will be sufficient for the importation of medicines, food, and chemicals, among other items. The same applies to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the equivalent of the local SENASA. Meat, poultry, and meat products will enter the country only with the authorization of the FSIS.
Not even agriculture is spared: the sectors in which Argentina is opening up to the United States
The agreement does not establish significant benefits for Argentine agriculture in exchange for importing industrial goods, but rather Argentina is opening up in both areas. The agreement establishes annual quotas for food produced in the United States that will enter the country without paying tariffs, such as:
1,000 tons of cheese
870 tons of almonds
80 tons of pistachios
1,100 tons of potatoes
80,000 liters of wine
10,000 cars
The national government announced a supposed quota of 100,000 tons of Argentine beef that would enter the United States without tariffs, but not only does this not appear in the agreement, it is actually the opposite.
“It is a decision by the U.S. government that is not included in the agreement,” said Pablo Quirno, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a recent television interview.
“It does not appear that there was a negotiation, but rather a concession on the part of Argentina. The only thing that was defended was the short-term preference of a government, not national interests,” Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, PhD in International Relations, told Página|12.
“One would have thought that it was going to be an agreement to bring more agricultural products into the United States, which would not have created jobs either because it is a sector that does not generate much employment. But not even that, this is even more unequal,” warns Guido Bambini, economic researcher at the Argentine Center for Political Economy (CEPA).
At the same time, import duties on laptops, fiber optic cables, and other technological items are eliminated, without quotas. Taxes cannot be imposed on software or streaming platforms either. This point is reciprocal, but in practice it benefits the United States, as it is the world leader in these areas.
Preferential treatment for US companies
Argentina will allow and facilitate US investment in its territory for the exploration and exploitation of critical minerals and energy resources and to provide power generation, telecommunications, transportation, and infrastructure services.
“US companies must be the first to be notified when oil and mining tenders are opened,” emphasizes Eduardo Martínez, an international and geopolitical analyst.
The agreement adds that Argentina must not impose new barriers on US suppliers or treat them less favorably than domestic companies or companies from any other country. At the same time, the country commits to “addressing unfair practices by companies from third countries,” in clear reference to China.
The United States will supervise Argentina’s industrial and foreign trade policy
On the one hand, Argentina will not be able to impose taxes that “discriminate against US companies.” On the other hand, it urges that if the United States imposes border or trade measures to defend its national security, our country immediately take the same measures “when appropriate.”
It also commits to cooperating with the United States “consistently” to ensure compliance with the international trade sanctions and controls that the United States applies to different countries.
In the field of nuclear and energy, it will be prohibited to purchase nuclear reactors, fuel rods, or enriched uranium from certain countries, with a focus on China and Russia.
Argentina will not be able to subsidize its public companies “in a way that distorts international trade” and, if requested by the United States, it must provide information on all assistance it provides to domestic manufacturing companies.
What does Argentina gain from the agreement?
Argentina gains little to nothing from the agreement. Products such as tea, mate, mangoes and tropical fruits, some juices and coffee, among a few others, will enter the United States duty-free.
For pharmaceutical animal products and steel and aluminum, provided they are for civil aviation and not for other industrial purposes, the United States promises not to impose extra tariffs, meaning they will remain at the standard 10%.
“The benefits for Argentina are very limited. In some cases, it only proposes to eliminate additional tariffs that Trump imposed in April, so there is no improvement. It also includes many goods that Argentina does not export, such as inputs for aircraft construction or for the pharmaceutical sector,” adds Julieta Zelicovich, PhD in International Relations and researcher at Fundar.
For his part, Tokatlian asserts that “the Argentine government had the luxury of not consulting business leaders, workers, and politicians about the progress of its meetings.” “The social and political actors potentially affected by what was signed never showed the slightest capacity for collective action,” he reflects.
“The only point they make is that the US is eliminating tariffs on products they don’t have. It’s deficient in every way; it’s tailor-made for the United States,” says Martínez.
When does the agreement come into force?
Although the agreement must be accepted by both chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, the text states that “it will enter into force 60 days after the parties have exchanged notifications certifying compliance with the applicable legal procedures.” Either party may terminate the agreement, but notice must be given at least six months in advance.