The White House announced, Thursday, November 13, the conclusion of trade agreements with Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador and El Salvador, in four separate press releases published on its website.
The four countries concerned have made a series of commitments, in particular opening their markets to American products, in return for which the Trump administration will reduce import duties on certain products they export to America, for example agricultural products or textiles.
A senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said across-the-board tariffs of 10 percent were imposed on products from Guatemala, El Salvador and Argentina, and 15 percent on products from Ecuador, “will remain unchanged”but it’s there “will get a drop” on a certain number of items. He took the example of a banana. Guatemala supplies 41% of products imported to the United States and Ecuador 19%. In contrast, Argentina, for example, is committed to opening its market to poultry and livestock from America, especially through simplifying beef imports.
Agreement with strategic issues
Some of the agreements announced on Thursday also guarantee, according to the senior officials mentioned, United States access to strategic minerals. The four countries in question also pledged not to tax digital services, which is a key demand of the American president, according to the same sources.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, an ally of Donald Trump, published the text of the X agreement with one brief comment: ” Friends “accompanied by the flags of both countries. Bernardo Arevalo, his Guatemalan counterpart, welcomed the compromise that could be illustrated “strong relationship” with the United States and who created the country “even more competitive and attractive in terms of investment. » Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pablo Quirno, spoke about the agreement “increasing bilateral trade. »
