These deals secure commitments on economic and national security issues to strengthen supply chains and trade partnerships in the region, deepening bilateral trade and investment cooperation to provide US American exporters unprecedented access to markets in Central and South America.
The deals will help US farmers, ranchers, fishermen, small businesses and manufacturers to increase US exports to and expand business opportunities with these trading partners, a White House fact sheet said.
Key terms of the deal with El Salvador include commitment by the country to address a range of non-tariff barriers, including by streamlining regulatory requirements and approvals for US exports. El Salvador will also break down non-tariff barriers for US agricultural products in its market.
Argentina will provide preferential market access for US goods exports, including chemicals, machinery, information technology products and a wide range of agricultural products.
It has also committed to addressing structural challenges cited in the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s 2025 Special 301 report, including patentability criteria, patent backlog and geographical indications, as well as to working towards aligning its intellectual property regime with international standards.
Guatemala has committed to facilitating digital trade, including by refraining from imposing digital services taxes or other measures that discriminate against US digital services or US products distributed digitally, ensuring the free transfer of data across trusted borders, and supporting a permanent multilateral moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
It has committed to protect internationally recognised labour rights, and will prohibit import of goods produced by forced or compulsory labour and strengthen its labour laws and their enforcement.
Ecuador has committed to adopting and maintaining high levels of environmental protection and taking measures to improve forest sector governance and combat illegal logging.
It will remove or decrease a range of tariff barriers across key goods sectors and fully eliminate a variable tariff on many agricultural products it had imposed through the Andean Price Band System. These actions will create commercially meaningful market access opportunities for US exports, supporting high-quality American jobs, the fact sheet said.
In the coming weeks, the five countries will work to finalise the agreements for signature.
For El Salvador and Guatemala, the United States will also remove reciprocal tariffs from certain products like textiles and apparel, originating under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).
This will be a boon for US textile production and El Salvador’s and Guatemala’s economic growth, and will strengthen the resilience of textile and apparel supply chains, the fact sheet noted.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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