The United States said on Thursday (13) that it will remove tariffs on some food and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador, under framework agreements that will give North American companies greater access to these markets.
The deals are expected to help lower the prices of coffee, bananas and other foods, a senior Trump administration official told reporters, adding that the administration hopes U.S. retailers will pass on the positive effects to U.S. consumers.
Framework agreements with most of the four countries are expected to be finalized within the next two weeks, the official said, with additional agreements seen as possible before the end of the year.
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the US planned some ‘substantial’ announcements in the coming days that would lead to lower prices for coffee, bananas and other fruits, as part of an effort by the Trump administration to reduce the cost of living for Americans.
US President Donald Trump has focused intensely on the issue of affordability after a string of defeats for Republican candidates in last week’s election, insisting that any higher costs were triggered by policies enacted by former President Joe Biden rather than his own sweeping tariffs.
Democratic victories in New Jersey, New York and Virginia, driven in part by concerns about the cost of living, revealed voters’ concerns about high prices, which economists say were fueled in part by import tariffs imposed by Trump on nearly every country.
US officials were having ‘very constructive’ talks with other countries in Central and South America and could conclude more trade deals before the end of the year, the official said, adding that trade talks with Switzerland and Taiwan on Thursday were also largely positive.
Authorities from Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala and Ecuador welcomed the agreements.
The framework agreements announced Thursday would maintain 10% tariffs on most products from El Salvador, Guatemala and Argentina, where the U.S. had modest trade surpluses, and 15% on imports from Ecuador, where the U.S. had a trade deficit.
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But they will result in the removal of U.S. tariffs on several items that are not grown, extracted or produced in the United States, the official said, citing bananas and coffee from Ecuador as examples.
The agreements, similar to those announced with Asian countries in October, included commitments not to charge taxes on digital services from U.S. companies, along with the removal of tariffs on U.S. agricultural and industrial products, the official said.
“With all of these agreements, the ones in Asia and the ones we’re announcing today, we maintain the tariffs, we grant some tariff relief on certain products or goods, but at the same time we open up foreign markets in a way that they weren’t open before,” the official said.
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Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said the agreement’s structure would ‘create the conditions’ to boost US investment in Argentina, thanking Argentina’s libertarian president Javier Milei for his ‘conviction’ regarding the agreement.
