The President of Argentina, Javier Milei, expressed his interest in reaching a free trade agreement with the United States during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). At this event, Milei announced that his country would join the reciprocal tariffs policy proposed by the Donald Trump Administration. He reaffirmed his desire to establish a mutually beneficial trade pact that does not harm Argentine producers.
In January, at the economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Argentine leader had expressed his willingness to leave the trading bloc if necessary to finalize such a treaty with Washington. During his speech at CPAC, he praised Elon Musk's work in the Republican government and supported cuts to humanitarian aid provided by the U.S. agency USAID, while expressing Argentina's interest in being the first nation to respond to Trump's call regarding reciprocal trade agreements.
Last week, Trump announced the imposition of 'reciprocal tariffs' on countries that tax American products, with the aim of leveling the tariffs imposed on U.S. exports. He also signed 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, a measure that will take effect on March 12 and will affect Argentina. In contrast, Mercosur has been negotiating with the European Union to counteract the tariffs imposed by the United States, after reaching a pact that still needs to be ratified by the parliaments of the Member States.
Milei attacked Mercosur, labeling it as the main obstacle for Argentina to finalize a trade agreement with the U.S., claiming that his country would already be working on a free trade agreement with the United States if not for the restrictions imposed by the regional bloc.
