Payam Javan: The United States and Argentina have finalized a new trade and investment agreement aimed at lowering trade barriers between two of the Western Hemisphere’s largest economies. The deal was signed on Feb. 5 in Washington by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, formalizing a framework first agreed upon in November.

Under the agreement, Argentina will eliminate trade restrictions on 221 categories of U.S. goods, including chemicals, machinery, and medical devices. Buenos Aires will also reduce tariffs to 2 percent on additional product categories—mainly auto parts—and introduce tariff-free quotas for vehicles and select agricultural products, marking a significant shift away from long-standing protectionist policies under President Javier Milei.

In return, the United States will remove reciprocal tariffs on 1,675 Argentine products, a move Argentina says could increase its exports by more than $1 billion. Washington will also sharply expand preferential access for Argentine beef, raising the import quota to 100,000 metric tons, a change expected to boost Argentine beef exports to the U.S. market by roughly $800 million.

The agreement comes as the Trump administration seeks to ease high food prices amid a shrinking U.S. cattle herd and record beef prices. However, U.S. cattle producers have voiced strong opposition, warning that increased imports could harm domestic ranchers while offering limited relief to consumers, and urging the administration to prioritize domestic herd protection and regulatory reforms instead.