Last Wednesday, the 25% tariff imposed by Donald Trump’s government on steel and aluminum imports to the United States came into force in Argentina, as it did in the rest of the world.
When the U.S. president was asked about the possibility of exceptions, as was the case in 2018 to a similar measure, and the case of Argentina was mentioned, Trump replied that there would be no exception and that the United States still faced a “small deficit” in bilateral trade with the South American country.
However, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec), Argentina recorded a small surplus of USD 229 million in its trade exchange with the US in 2024. This contrasts with the previous 16 years, in which there was always a favorable balance for the U.S. Between 2008 and 2023, Argentina accumulated a deficit of USD 46,437 million in goods trade with the United States.
Most surprisingly, as recently reported by the U.S. Trade Representation (USTR), the United States did not have a “small deficit” with Argentina, but a surplus of USD 2.1 billion in 2024, which contradicts Trump’s statements.
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