Washington Urges Argentina to Ratify US Trade Agreement

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On 27 August 2026, Deputy United States Trade Representative Jeff Goettman met with Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and Economy Minister Luis Caputo in Buenos Aires to urge the ratification of the United States-Argentina Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment (ARTI). Signed on 5 February 2026, the agreement remained without legal force in either country as it awaited legislative approval. The accord proposed that Argentina remove duties on 221 tariff lines and implement duty-free quotas for U.S. goods, including 80,000 tonnes of beef and 10,000 motor vehicles, while the U.S. would remove reciprocal tariffs on 1,675 Argentine tariff positions. Argentina’s legislative process requires Article 75 approval by a Congress where the La Libertad Avanza party holds 95 of 257 deputies and 20 of 72 senators.

Consequences

The agreement faces potential friction with Mercosur, as Brazil indicated that the bilateral tariff cuts could perforate the bloc's common external tariff. Ratification remains contingent on Argentina completing the necessary domestic legal procedures for both nations to exchange the written notifications required to bring the accord into force.

Sources

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