Overview
- Washington published a joint communiqué establishing a bilateral framework to deepen trade and investment, with both governments now working to finalize the legal text and complete domestic procedures before it takes effect.
- The framework’s 11 areas include tariff changes, removal of non‑tariff barriers, alignment on standards and conformity assessment, intellectual property, agricultural market access, labor and environmental commitments, state firms and subsidies, digital trade, and security‑related economic coordination.
- Argentina commits to preferential access for U.S. goods, elimination of import licenses and consular formalities for U.S. exports, a phased reduction of the statistical tax, and recognition of U.S. FDA drug and device approvals and U.S. vehicle safety standards.
- The United States will remove certain reciprocal tariffs on natural resources and pharmaceutical inputs, consider Argentina favorably under national‑security trade criteria, and improve bilateral access for beef, with Argentina also opening to U.S. live cattle and poultry within a year.
- The announcement coincided with Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno’s meetings in Washington with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and trade officials, drawing strong praise from Argentina’s governing coalition and fresh doubts from opposition figures about sectoral impacts.