Argentina President Javier Milei publicly celebrated the decision of US President Donald Trump to impose a 10% universal basic tariff on all imported products. In a publication on Rede X, Milei shared Queen’s song “Friends Will Be Friends” with the caption: “Friends Will Be Friends… Tmap” – (in the translation, “friends will be friends”, and “Everything Walking according to the plan”, in the acronym in Spanish).
The fare reaches Argentine exports with the same percentage applied to Brazil, Colombia and Chile. Among the largest powers, China, the European Union, the United Kingdom and India were the most impacted, with rates of up to 34%.
Milei’s allies interpreted the measure as positive. “It is equivalent to a free trade treaty,” said Deputy Agustín Romo. Already the director of communication of the presidency, Juan Pablo Carreira, said that Argentina gained competitive advantage with the measure. “What Trump did is impressive,” he published on the social network.
The announcement takes place on the eve of Milei traveling to the United States, where he should meet Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, during a ceremony where both will be honored. The expectation of the Argentine government is that the proximity to the former US president will contribute to the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where Argentina seeks a new credit of $ 20 billion, with an initial disbursement of 40%. IMF director-managing director Kristalina Georgieva has classified as “reasonable” this initial value.
Currently, the United States is the second main destination of Argentine exports, with 8.1% of the total in 2024, behind only Brazil, which received 17.1% of shipments, according to Data from Indec.