These are the latest agreements between the US and Central and South American countries since President Donald Trump began his global reciprocal tariff policy in April.
Historic agreements
The White House announced that Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Argentina have agreed to open their markets to US products. In return, Washington will eliminate or reduce 10-15% tariffs on selected goods from these countries. The new agreements are expected to ease the financial burden on US consumers by bringing down the prices of certain groceries.
The trade deal with Argentina, the third-largest economy in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico, is particularly noteworthy. The White House said in a joint statement that it will partially remove the 10% tariff imposed on all imports from Argentina since April. Tariffs will be lifted on certain non-patented pharmaceuticals and goods that can’t be grown, mined, or produced in the United States in sufficient quantities.
Argentina will provide preferential market access for US exports, including certain medicines, chemicals, machinery, information technology products, medical devices, motor vehicles, and a wide range of agricultural products. It will simplify the product registration process for US beef, beef products, beef offal, and pork products, and will not require facility registration for imports of US dairy products.
The trade agreement with Argentina, a major agricultural producer in the region, was a Trump priority. Last month, he quadrupled the US quota for Argentine beef imports to help reduce food prices in the US and support Argentine President Javier Milei, whom Trump considers a close political ally.
“We want to help Argentina and we want to always help ourselves. One of the ways we can do it is they have great product and we used to do a lot of trade. But a lot of that trade disappeared. They have great product so we will be trading with Argentina. It’ll be helpful to them and it's good for us also,” said Trump.
Ecuador, the only Latin American country that has a trade surplus with the US, reported 90 billion USD in bilateral trade of goods and services last year. Under the new trade framework, Ecuador will remove many barriers on goods and digital trade for American companies and agrees to cooperate with the US on investment security and export controls.
Reasserting influence
Observers say the new trade pacts with four Latin American countries is a win for President Trump.
Domestically, the agreements will ease pressure on the US consumer market, especially for food products that have surged in price recently and caused widespread dissatisfaction. Price inflation was seen as a major factor in Republican losses to the Democrats in recent elections in New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
Reducing prices is now a top priority for the Trump administration, which is considering eliminating tariffs on items like beef and oranges from countries that have not yet reached new trade agreements with the US.
Enhancing trade cooperation with Latin American countries is a step in Washington’s strategy to reclaim influence in a region it has long left open to rival powers.
In all four agreements, the US underlined cooperation on critical mineral extraction, strengthening supply chains, and establishing common standards on investment security and export control, pillars of its strategy to reduce its dependence on certain countries. With their abundant mineral resources, Latin American nations could play an important role in this effort.
These moves align with recent US policies of providing economic assistance to Argentina and intensifying anti–drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean Sea.
“I must tell you, if you take a look now, South America is turning. South American countries are starting to turn very much toward us. I mean, you can go right down the pack. But they are starting to turn. It's pretty amazing,” said Trump.
The US is now finalizing a deal with Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America. On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira to advance ongoing negotiations, with the goal of completing the agreement before the end of this year.