The United States is set to remove tariffs on some food products and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador in exchange for better access to those markets for American companies.
The framework agreements, which are expected to be finalized in the next fortnight, aim to reduce prices of bananas, coffee and other food items from the region.
“With all these deals, in Asia, that we are announcing today, we maintain tariffs, we give some tariff relief on certain products or goods, but at the same time, we open up foreign markets in ways that they have not opened up before,” a government official said. reuters News agency on Thursday.
Following recent Democratic victories in New Jersey, New York and Virginia amid cost-of-living concerns caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the administration has focused renewed attention on affordability issues, and has blamed higher costs on policies implemented by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.
On the other hand, economists say the price increases are partly caused by sweeping import tariffs imposed by Trump on nearly every country on the planet.
How have the countries involved responded?
Officials in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala and Ecuador welcomed the deals.
Argentinian Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said the agreement would “create the conditions” to promote US investment in Argentina and thanked Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Mellí for his “confidence” in bringing about the agreement.
El Salvador’s ambassador to Washington said the two “sister countries” have “rebuilt their relations based on trust and self-determination,” while his Guatemalan counterpart said the agreement “makes us an even more competitive and more attractive country for investment.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed a similar framework with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira on Thursday.
“The Secretary of State said they are analyzing bilateral issues with Brazil with full attention and time, they want to resolve them quickly, and the answer will come very soon, tomorrow or next week,” Vieira told reporters in Washington.
Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer and exporter. But the US currently faces a 50% tariff imposed by Trump on its exports.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko