Argentina sent its first shipment of lemons to the United States in 17 years, a few months after President Donald Trump authorized citrus imports from the country.
A shipment of 1,400 boxes (21,000 kilograms) from the province of Tucumán has already crossed the border by land on its way to the Sao Paulo Central Market, the national Agriculture Ministry reported Tuesday. Lemon exports to Brazil had been halted in 2009.
Argentina announced that the United States APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) has allowed fresh beef imports from Argentina, lifting a 15-year ban which Buenos Aires had always considered 'unjustified' and bluntly 'protectionist' and as such had claimed before the WTO. In the same vein Argentina also anticipated it expected a similar decision from the US regarding Argentine lemons.
Uruguay’s major citrus crops estimates place production at almost a third lower than the previous year, the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fishing (MGAP) reported.
The European Union, the US and Japan have jointly asked the World Trade Organization to rule in a protracted trade dispute with Argentina. They criticize what they believe are unfair import restrictions and protectionism.
Argentina has filed complaints with the World Trade Organization against the United States over limits on beef and lemon shipments, and against the European Union and Spain for curbs on bio-diesel, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman announced.
Argentina has filed its third trade complaint in two weeks, the World Trade Organization said on Monday, challenging US laws that it says have blocked imports of fresh lemons from north-west Argentina.
Argentina on Thursday officially lodged a dispute against US restrictions on imports of Argentinean beef and other meat products, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Friday.
The administration of President Cristina Fernandez again challenged the United States on the “trade restrictions in place against Argentine products” which it claims are part of “a protectionist policy inconsistent with from the World Trade Organization”.
The current war of words over trade barriers going on between the US and Argentina further escalated tensions on Wednesday as Argentine Ambassador to the US Jorge Argüello highlighted: “the United States has been reported for a number of trade law violations.”