In accordance with framework agreements that will provide US businesses more access to those markets, the United States announced on Thursday that it will reduce duties on a number of foods and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
A senior Trump administration official told reporters that the accords are anticipated to help cut prices for coffee, bananas, and other items. The government also anticipated that US retailers will pass on the benefits to American consumers.
According to the official, the framework agreements with the majority of the four nations should be completed within the next two weeks, and further agreements are anticipated before the year is up.
As part of the Trump administration’s effort to cut the cost of living for Americans, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the US planned some “substantial” announcements in the coming days that would result in lower pricing on coffee, bananas, and other fruits.
The US State Department announced on Thursday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira met this week to develop a framework for a commercial cooperation between the two countries.
Brazil is the biggest producer and exporter of coffee in the world, but US President Donald Trump has put crippling 50% penalties on its exports to the US.
Following a series of Republican candidates’ losses in last week’s elections, Trump has placed a great deal of emphasis on the subject of affordability while maintaining that any increased costs were the result of former President Joe Biden’s policies rather than his own broad tariffs.
Democratic victories in New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, which were partly motivated by worries about the cost of living, demonstrated voters’ rising dissatisfaction with high prices, which analysts claim have been exacerbated by Trump’s import taxes on almost every nation.
In an effort to lower prices, the Trump administration is reportedly mulling more tax exemptions on imported food items like citrus and cattle, even those from nations that have not signed trade deals with the US, according to the New York Times on Thursday. A request for comment on the story was not immediately answered by a White House official.
The official added that trade negotiations with Switzerland and Taiwan on Thursday had also been quite encouraging and that US officials were having “quite constructive” discussions with other Central and South American nations and might finalize other trade agreements before the end of the year.
The agreements were applauded by officials in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Ecuador.
The framework accords, which were revealed on Thursday, would keep tariffs at 15% on imports from Ecuador, where the US had a trade deficit, and 10% on the majority of items from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Argentina, where the US had moderate trade surpluses.
However, the official stated that they will lead to the reduction of US taxes on a variety of goods that are not produced, cultivated, or mined in the US, citing Ecuadorian coffee and bananas as examples.
According to the person, the agreements, which were comparable to those made with Asian nations in October, included pledges to avoid imposing digital services taxes on US businesses as well as the elimination of tariffs on US industrial and agricultural products.
“With all of these deals, the ones in Asia, the ones we’re announcing today, we maintain the tariffs, we give some tariff relief on certain products or goods, but at the same time, we open up foreign markets in ways that they have not been open before,” said the official.
Pablo Quirno, the foreign minister of Argentina, thanked Javier Milei, the country’s libertarian president, for his “conviction” about the pact and stated that it will “create the conditions” to increase US investment in Argentina.
Another vocal Trump supporter, El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele, posted the statement on X with the word “friends.” Milena Mayorga, his ambassador to Washington, praised the ruling and noted that the two “sister nations” have “rebuilt their relations on the basis of trust and self-determination.”
Bernardo Arevalo, Bukele’s counterpart in Guatemala, said the agreement was beneficial to the country’s economy. The deal “places us as an even more competitive and more attractive country for investment,” Arevalo stated in a social media video.
Ecuador’s government, led by President Daniel Noboa, who has sided with the Trump administration on immigration and anti-drug initiatives, also applauded the agreement, claiming in a social media statement that it would strengthen the nation’s export industry. Along with oil, Ecuador is a significant supplier of shrimp and bananas.
