The White House announced several trade deals with South and Central American nations that could lead to reduced tariffs on certain goods, including certain coffee, banana and beef exports. The countries involved in the agreements are Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador and Argentina.
"Today’s announcement shows that America can defend its domestic production while obtaining expansive market access with our trading partners," the White House said in a fact sheet on the deals.
Senior administration officials said that under the deals, reciprocal rates will remain in place, but certain items would have lower tariffs, such as things that cannot be produced in the U.S., including coffee, bananas and cocoa. However, most imports will not qualify under the deals and for those goods, Argentina, Guatemala and El Salvador will be subject to a 10% tariff, while Ecuador will have a 15% tariff.
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The framework for the deal with Argentina also includes lower tariffs on Argentine beef imports, but does not increase the U.S.'s import quota.
The Trump administration drew the ire of both Democrats and Republicans over a proposed expansion of beef imports from Argentina. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, several GOP lawmakers expressed concern over how this could impact U.S. farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers.
"While we share the Administration’s goal of lowering costs for consumers, we are concerned that granting additional market access to Argentina — already one of our largest beef suppliers — will undermine American cattle producers, weaken our position in ongoing trade negotiations, and reintroduce avoidable animal-health risks," the letter, which was signed by 14 Republicans, read.
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The letter was signed by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Reps. Adrian Smith, of Nebraska; Greg Steube, of Florida; Beth Van Duyne, of Texas; Mike Carey, of Ohio; Michelle Fischbach, of Minnesota; Bruce Westerman, of Arkansas; Rudy Yakym III, of Indiana; Scott Franklin, of Florida; Max Miller, of Ohio; David Kustoff, of Tennessee; Frank Lucas, of Oklahoma; Greg Murphy, of North Carolina; and Aaron Bean, of Florida.
"Providing greater access to nations that maintain barriers against U.S. beef or have previously struggled to maintain animal health transparency risks disrupting markets and depressing cattle prices without delivering measurable benefits to consumers," the lawmakers said.
The 14 Republicans called for increased investments at home as a way of lowering prices, rather than relying on imports. However, the deal outlined on Thursday appears to strike a political balance, giving Argentina some relief on tariffs while also keeping the quota as-is.
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The White House highlighted in a fact sheet how Americans will potentially benefit from the deals. When it comes to El Salvador, the Trump administration said that San Salvador vowed to address non-tariff barriers, "including by streamlining regulatory requirements and approvals for U.S. exports." Meanwhile, Argentina has agreed to give "preferential market access" to U.S. goods, such as medication, chemicals, technology and more. Additionally, Guatemala has committed to refrain from "imposing digital services taxes or other measures that discriminate against U.S. digital services or U.S. products distributed digitally."
Ecuador, which faces a higher tariff than the other three nations, said it would adopt and maintain high levels of environmental protection and to improve forest management to prevent illegal logging.
