Donald Trump suggested that Argentina would not be excluded from steel and aluminum tariffs

Trump’s words come at a time when Javier Milei A trip to Washington ready next week and, confident in his good relationship with the US president, will seek to negotiate in person that the country is excluded from the increase in rates.

Trump signed a decree on Monday with a strong rise of 25% to all imports of steel and aluminum in the United States, a measure that strongly hits its neighbors as Canada and Mexico And also countries in the region like Brazil and Argentina that are among the main suppliers of those strategic materials.

The measure hits Argentina in more than US $ 600 million: Last year Aluar exported to the US, aluminum for US $ 515 million, and the steel placements by Tenaris would have added US $ 112 million.

The ultimate goal of the tariff rise is, beyond correcting US deficits with other countries, control the Chinese domain of the global market of these metals. But the measure affects several allies of the first power such as the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Australia and Argentina, which They seek to be except for the increase.

However, Trump seemed to place cold cloths to this expectation. When he signed the decrees in the Oval Hall, journalists asked him about possible exceptions And the president replied: “We have some deficit with Argentina, as with almost all countries,” When he was consulted particularly on whether he considered an exemption to Argentine products.

He also said they had deficit with the United Kingdom. Trump suggested that The only exception at the moment could be Australia because they have a commercial surplus and “buy us many airplanes.” He said he had spoken with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese. “It is one of the few that we are going to reconsider,” he added.

Argentina ended last year with a USS 229 million surplus in trade with the United Statesaccording to Indec. Exports to that country added US $ 6,454 million, 14% more than in 2023, and imports US $ 6,225 million.

During his first term, Trump had also imposed 25% tariffs on steel and 10% to aluminum, arguing that they were vital metals for national security. But Later he granted tax -free fees to Argentina (At that time Mauricio Macri presided) and several other commercial partners, including Canada, Mexico and Brazil, with some conditions. But those arrangements were not immediate and caused many complications to exports.

That is why the Government seeks that Argentina be except for the list soon and for that Milei will seek to get revenue with his good personal relationship with Trump. The libertarian leader will arrive in Washington on the 20th and plans to speak at the CPAC Conservative Conference, which will close the Chief of the White House as the main speaker.

Beyond some meeting that can happen between scenes on the banks of the conference, Milei seeks that the president of the United States receive it at the White House. The Argentine wants to be the first in the region that visits the presidential mansion, a gesture that would be important to ratify the alliance that both have even maintained since the Republican was elected president.

It would be an unmatched occasion for Milei to ask Trump get out of the “punished” list for steel and aluminum.

However, despite the good bilateral link, it will not be an easy task. The White House published on Tuesday an explanation of the rate of rates in which they indicate that They will eliminate “all alternative agreements” of the past.

They affirm that “the countries of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the European Union, Ukraine and the United Kingdom had received exemptions, which prevented tariffs from entering force.”

And they warn that “by granting exemptions to certain countries, United States Inadvertently created lagoons that were exploited by China and others with excess of steel and aluminum capacity, undermining the purpose of these exemptions. ”