Argentina’s President Javier Milei says he will change legislation to meet the requirements of US President’s Donald Trump's new tariffs and mitigate their impact.
Speaking at an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and resort in Florida, Milei delivered a brief speech as he received an award for his defence of free markets and conservative values.
Declaring he is ready to work side-by-side with the United States and Trump, Milei praised the US president and ruled out retaliatory measures.
“Argentina is going to move forward to readjust the regulations so that we meet the requirements of the reciprocal tariffs proposal developed” by Trump, Milei said, according to remarks briefed by his office.
"We have already met nine of the 16 necessary requirements , and I have instructed my country's Foreign Ministry and Commerce Secretariat to move forward with the remaining requirements,” he said, speaking a day after Trump slapped 10-percent tariffs on Argentine goods entering the United States.
“As you can see, we make policies with actions, not mere words, and on that, we agree with President Trump: it is time to act, and we are committed to taking the necessary measures,” he added.
Milei said that he had given instructions to ensure Argentina complies with Washington’s remaining requirements and vowed to “resolve the asymmetries with the United States in a short period of time.”
During 2024, Argentina experienced a remarkable growth in its exports to the US, reaching a total of US$6.395 billion – an increase of 13.2 percent compared to the previous year. This increase contributed to Argentina's first trade surplus with the US in 18 years, with a positive balance of US$ 232 million.
Milei said he saw the changes as a “step forward” towards a free-trade agreement with the United States, painting a picture of the future in which “tariffs and trade barriers are just a bad memory of the past.”
The Trump and Milei administrations are making progress on a bilateral agreement between the two countries. In principle, the government will move forward on "harmonising tariffs on a basket of 50 products so that they flow more freely" between the two nations, although for the moment it would start with around 10 products.
In March, Trump said he was open to discussing the possibility of a free-trade deal with Argentina.
Milei, whom Trump calls a “great leader,” has said he is willing to pull Argentina out of Mercosur regional trade bloc if necessary.
"To make Argentina great again ... we must work back to back as strategic partners with common objectives" with the United States, said Milei, who is seeking US support in negotiations for a new financing programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The La Libertad Avanza leader was speaking at the American Patriots Gala organised by the Make America Clean Again (MACA) foundation and the We Fund the Blue NGO.
Argentina’s leader failed to meet Trump during his brief visit to Florida, which lasted less than 24 hours.
– TIMES/AFP
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