US to remove some tariffs from Argentina, Ecuador

USA: THE United States is set to lift tariffs on certain food products and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador in return for improved access to those markets for American firms.

The framework agreements, which are expected to be finalized in the next fortnight, are aimed at reducing prices for bananas, coffee and other foodstuffs from the region.

“With all of these deals, the ones in Asia, the ones we’re announcing today, we maintain the 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 been open before,” a government official told the Reuters news agency on Thursday.

After recent Democratic wins in New Jersey, New York and Virginia, due in part to cost-of-living concerns exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the administration has renewed focus on affordability issues, blaming higher costs on policies enacted by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.

Economists, on the other hand, say price hikes have been caused in part 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.

Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said the deal would “create the conditions” to boost US investment in Argentina and thanked Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei for his “conviction” in bringing about the agreement.

El Salvador’s ambassador to Washington said the two “sister nations” had “rebuilt their relations on the basis of trust and self-determination,” while his Guatemalan counterpart said the agreement “places us as 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 that they are analyzing the bilateral issues with Brazil with all due attention and time, that they want to resolve them quickly, and that an 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 its exports to the US currently face crushing 50% duties imposed by Trump.