Argentina and the United States signed a sweeping trade agreement on Thursday, a key victory for President Javier Milei, who has forged close ties with President Trump.
The deal is set to accelerate Mr. Milei’s push to open his country’s economy, the third largest in South America, by reducing reciprocal tariffs and expanding the exports of key goods, including Argentine beef, which has become a flashpoint for American ranchers.
“Today, Argentina sent a clear message to the world: we’re a reliable partner,” Pablo Quirno, Argentina’s foreign minister, wrote on social media.
It is the first time Argentina and the United States are signing such an expansive trade agreement, experts said, as Mr. Milei, a free trade enthusiast, is tearing down barriers in the long protectionist country in his overhaul of the Argentine economy.
“The deepening partnership between President Trump and President Milei serves as a model of how countries in the Americas, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, can advance our shared ambitions and safeguard our economic and national security,” Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative, said in a statement.
Mr. Quirno announced that the United States would eliminate reciprocal tariffs for over 1,600 Argentine products. The deal is also meant to attract greater American investment in Argentina, a priority for the Milei administration to help the country grow and attract U.S. dollars.
Argentina will eliminate tariffs for over 200 American products, the Argentine foreign ministry said in a statement, including machinery, transport equipment and pharmaceutical and chemical products. Argentine industrialists, long shielded by sweeping trade protections, have expressed concern over competing with imports, while free-trade supporters argue it is time for Argentina to open up.
“It’s going in the right direction,” said Marcelo Elizondo, an Argentine trade and business consultant, adding that the deal was relevant “not just in terms of trade but also in terms of geopolitics.”
“It’s one more link in the relationship between the Milei and Trump administration,” he said, citing the $20 billion lifeline the United States extended to Argentina ahead of crucial midterm elections last year.
The deal significantly expands market access for Argentine goods, most notably by raising the beef quota to 100,000 tons — a fivefold increase. Mr. Trump said the policy was aimed at lowering beef prices for U.S. consumers, but it set off a backlash from American ranchers.
“This is not what we needed right now,” said Bill Bullard, the chief executive of R-Calf USA, an organization of American ranchers, which had asked the government to limit imports. This action, Mr. Bullard said, “will further delay the rebuilding of our domestic herd.”
The Argentine government is expected to submit a bill for lawmakers’ approval of the deal, which is required by the Constitution.
Since his party won midterm elections last year, Mr. Milei has held a strong position in Parliament, where he is seeking to pass a series of key bills in the next months, including a sweeping labor reform.
The Argentine Congress is also set to debate a trade agreement between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, which form the trade bloc known as Mercosur, and the European Union, which would create one of the world’s largest free-trade areas. Implementation has stalled, however, because of legal challenges in Europe.
Mr. Milei, a libertarian economist, has transformed Argentine foreign policy to emerge as a fond ally of President Trump, who is seeking to expand U.S. influence in Latin America and counter the Chinese presence in the region. Mr. Milei is expected to travel to Mr. Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, to attend a private gala next week.
The two governments are collaborating on multiple fronts. They have signed a critical minerals framework on Wednesday and are said to have entered negotiations for a deal that would allow the United States to deport foreign nationals to Argentina.
Argentina signed the trade agreement with the United States alone, without the other Mercosur countries, which, Mr. Elizondo said, risks further deteriorating the relationship between Mr. Milei and Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Lucía Cholakian Herrera contributed reporting from Buenos Aires.
Emma Bubola is a Times reporter covering Argentina. She is based in Buenos Aires.
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