The Trump Administration’s New US Western Hemisphere Trade Strategy

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The Trump administration has opted to iron out specific trade issues rather than pursue sweeping agreements with its American neighbors.

For years, US trade policy toward the Western Hemisphere has oscillated between strategic ambition and political paralysis. Recent reciprocal trade agreements with Ecuador, Argentina, El Salvador, and Guatemala reflect a pragmatic shift: fewer comprehensive treaties and more targeted arrangements designed to address specific trade distortions and bolster regional economic competitiveness. This strategy, however, must contend with structural tensions both within the United States and among its hemispheric partners.

The United States pursued these agreements in response to persistent trade deficits, limited access to foreign markets due to non-tariff barriers, and rising competition from actors such as China. The Trump administration’s recent tariff measures, sometimes imposed under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), sought to pressure partners to negotiate more equitable terms. Washington recognized that although its tariffs were generally low, US exporters faced regulatory, sanitary, and bureaucratic obstacles that constrained market access.

For El Salvador and Guatemala, both members of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), the issue was not a lack of preferential access for US exporters but rather the practical erosion of that access. Persistent non-tariff barriers, including customs delays, inconsistent sanitary requirements, and opaque technical regulations, undermined competitiveness and generated friction with Washington, which perceived that CAFTA-DR commitments were not being fully honored.

The new agreements aim to........

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