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Argentine President Javier Milei took his pitch for a free trade accord with the US to a conservative conference near Washington, saying he wants to be first in line to reach a deal.
Milei cited President Donald Trump’s threat of reciprocal tariffs against US trading partners in a well-received speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference. He said Argentina’s membership in Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, is an obstacle.
“I want to take this chance to announce that Argentina wants to be the first country in the world to join this reciprocal accord that the Trump administration proposed on trade matters,” Milei said. “If we were not restricted by Mercosur, Argentina would already be working on a mutually beneficial free trade deal with the United States.”
Milei, 54, who has embraced Trump as an ideological soulmate, pledged in his speech to collaborate with countries that share his vision of freedom and keep shrinking state bureaucracy.
Trump praised Milei in a speech later Saturday, that was then followed by a meeting that could provide reprieve to the Argentine president after a week of backlash toward his administration due to a cryptocurrency scandal.
In the meeting, both leaders discussed the “innovative” economic measures Milei is deploying in Argentina and the importance of both countries working together, according to a statement from the Argentine government.
Meanwhile Federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano has requested information to investigate Milei for his endorsement of a memecoin on X, La Nacion reported late Friday.
Since arriving in Washington on Thursday, Milei has met Elon Musk and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, with whom he discussed an IMF debt agreement to boost Argentina’s economy.
–With assistance from María Paula Mijares Torres and Manuela Tobias.
(Adds additional detail.)
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