Trump Open to Free Trade Agreenebt With Argentina as Milei Pushes to Exit Mercosur
President Donald Trump signaled on Monday that he would be open to signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Argentina under President Javier Milei’s leadership.
“I consider anything,” Trump told a reporter from Argentina’s La Nación newspaper. “And Argentina—I think he’s [Milei] great, by the way—I think he’s a great leader. He’s doing a great job. He’s doing a fantastic job. He brought it back [Argentina] from oblivion. Yeah, we’ll look at things.”
Milei, who has been vocal about his desire to strengthen economic ties with the United States, has consistently advocated for a free trade deal between the two nations. Just days after Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, Milei made it clear that such an agreement was exactly what he wanted.
Currently, the United States ranks as Argentina’s third-largest export destination and fourth-largest import source. However, for Argentina to move forward with an FTA, Milei has stressed that the country would first need to exit Mercosur, a regional trade bloc founded in the 1990s by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The Mercosur Roadblock
Mercosur’s rules prohibit member nations from negotiating independent trade agreements without the bloc’s collective approval. Despite years of stalled negotiations between Mercosur and the European Union, no such agreement has been finalized.
Milei, who currently holds Mercosur’s rotating chairmanship, has been a longtime critic of the bloc, often labeling it a “bad idea” and an “imperfect customs union.” During a Mercosur summit in December, he openly criticized the trade pact:
“Not only did it [Mercosur] not make us grow, but it has hurt us,” Milei declared. “This bloc cannot continue to be a trap that limits our countries.”
He went further, calling Mercosur a “prison” that prevents member states from leveraging their full economic potential.
“The only thing [Mercosur] has done since its creation is enrich Brazilian industrialists at the expense of impoverishing Argentines,” Milei said.
A Historic Opportunity for U.S.-Argentina Trade
During a speech at the opening of Argentina’s congressional session, Milei reiterated that Argentina must seize the chance to establish a free trade deal with the U.S.—an opportunity that, according to him, the country squandered 20 years ago.
“The first step on this path is the historic opportunity we have to enter into a trade agreement with the United States,” Milei said. “An opportunity that was presented to us 20 years ago and we let it pass us by, squandering the last great growth boom that the planet saw.”
In February, while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Milei announced that Argentina is eager to become the first country in the world to join President Trump’s reciprocal trade plan.
“If we were not restricted by Mercosur, Argentina would already be working on a free trade agreement with the United States,” he told the CPAC audience. “One that would be mutually beneficial—one that does not unfairly burden Argentine producers, but not the American ones either.”
Will Mercosur Change?
Milei isn’t the first leader to challenge Mercosur’s restrictions. Former heads of state like Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Uruguay’s Luis Lacalle Pou previously pushed for rule changes that would allow members to negotiate independent trade agreements. However, no reforms materialized.
With Trump back in office and Milei determined to reshape Argentina’s trade policies, the push to abandon Mercosur in favor of a U.S.-Argentina trade pact may soon come to a head. Whether Argentina will ultimately break away from the bloc remains to be seen, but one thing is clear—both Milei and Trump see a new era of trade cooperation on the horizon.
