Argentina concerned About U.S. aluminum tariffs

Argentine President Javier Milei is likely to discuss the increase in U.S. import tariffs on steel and aluminum during his upcoming trip to Washington, as announced by the governor of one of the country's major aluminum-producing provinces. Ignacio Torres, the governor of Chubut province, where the aluminum production company Aluar is located, stated that Argentine officials have already discussed this matter with the country’s trade minister and the U.S. embassy in Argentina. Milei will be in the United States from Thursday to Saturday, and he is scheduled to meet with Elon Musk and the head of the International Monetary Fund. This meeting will coincide with former President Donald Trump’s appearance at the "Conservative Political Action Conference." Aluar is the largest aluminum exporter in South America. However, the United States imports less than 4% of its aluminum from Argentina. Torres declared that Trump's announcement to increase the aluminum tariff rate from 10% to 25% without exceptions is "illogical." Trump hopes that this action will aid the struggling U.S. industry but risks triggering a multilateral trade war and alienating allies in the process. Torres said, "We must defend Argentine labor, the Argentine industry, and most importantly, a company (Aluar) that has recently announced an investment of over $600 million in a wind farm in the province." Torres also spoke about a bill that could unlock more than $10 billion in investments in Chubut province. The Congress is set to discuss the "Green Hydrogen Act," which could attract the Polish company Green Capital to invest in large wind farms in the province.