ACHIEVING RECIPROCAL TRADE: Today, President Donald J. Trump announced a trade deal that will provide Americans with more certain and streamlined market access in El Salvador. The United States and the Republic of El Salvador (El Salvador) agreed to a Framework for an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, which will further strengthen and build upon our robust longstanding trade and economic partnership with El Salvador, and solidify and expand American exporters’ access to El Salvador’s market while bolstering U.S. national and economic security.
- The Agreement on Reciprocal Trade will help U.S. farmers, ranchers, fishers, small businesses, and manufacturers to increase U.S. exports and expand business opportunities with El Salvador.
- U.S. goods and services exports to El Salvador reached $6.7 billion in 2024, and the agreement will substantially facilitate increased opportunities for U.S. exporters.
GROUNDBREAKING TERMS: This Framework includes broad terms to solidify and streamline U.S. preferential market access for America’s industrial and agricultural exporters by addressing a wide range of non-tariff barriers. The key terms of the U.S.-El Salvador Agreement on Reciprocal Trade will include:
- Breaking Down Non-Tariff Barriers for U.S. Industrial Exports: El Salvador will address a range of non-tariff barriers, including by streamlining regulatory requirements and approvals for U.S. exports, such as: (1) accepting vehicles and automotive parts built to U.S. motor vehicle safety and emissions standards; (2) accepting FDA certificates and prior marketing authorizations for medical devices and pharmaceuticals; (3) accepting remanufactured goods from the United States; and (4) accepting electronic certificates, streamlining certificate of free sale requirements, removing apostille requirements, and expediting product registration requirements for U.S. products.
- Breaking Down Non-Tariff Barriers for U.S. Agriculture Exports: El Salvador will address and prevent barriers to U.S. agricultural products in its market, including with regard to fumigation requirements, facility registration, product registration, and acceptance of currently agreed certificates issued by U.S. regulatory authorities. El Salvador has committed to ensuring that market access for U.S. agricultural exporters will not be restricted due to the mere use of certain cheese and meat terms, including parmesan, gruyere, mozzarella, feta, asiago, salami, and prosciutto, among others, in El Salvador.
- Advancing Trade Facilitation and Good Regulatory Practices: El Salvador will continue to advance trade facilitating measures, including with respect to express delivery shipments. El Salvador also has committed to continue to adopt and implement good regulatory practices at the central level government. Accordingly, El Salvador has committed to publishing regulatory measures, including proposed text, conducting public consultations for proposed regulatory measures, and publishing upcoming regulatory policy priorities that are being developed, modified, or eliminated.
- Protecting and Enforcing Intellectual Property: El Salvador has made commitments that will benefit American innovators and creators by enhancing intellectual property protection and prioritizing enforcement against intellectual property theft, including moving forward with a number of key international intellectual property treaties. El Salvador has also committed to robust standards for transparency and fairness regarding the protection of geographic indications (GIs).
- Preventing Barriers for Digital Trade: El Salvador will prevent barriers to services and digital trade with the United States, and refrain from imposing discriminatory digital services taxes. El Salvador will support a permanent multilateral moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.
- Improving Labor Standards: El Salvador has committed to protecting internationally recognized labor rights and prohibiting the importation of goods produced by forced or compulsory labor.
- Strengthening Environmental Enforcement: El Salvador has committed to adopting and maintaining high levels of environmental protection and to effectively enforce its environmental laws. El Salvador has also committed to take measures to improve forest sector governance and combat illegal logging; work toward accepting as soon as possible the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and implementing its obligations; strengthen enforcement of its fisheries-related measures; and combat illegal wildlife trade and illegal mining.
- Strengthening Economic Security Alignment: The United States and El Salvador will strengthen economic and national security cooperation to enhance supply chain resilience and innovation through complementary actions to address non-market policies of other countries, as well as addressing duty evasion and cooperating on government procurement, investment security, and export controls.
- Confronting State-Owned Enterprises and Subsidies: El Salvador will address potential distortionary actions that state-owned enterprises or industrial subsidies may have on the bilateral trading relationship.
THE PROSPEROUS PATH FORWARD: In the coming weeks, the United States and El Salvador will work to finalize the Agreement, prepare the Agreement for signature, and undertake domestic formalities in advance of the Agreement entering into force to lock in benefits for American businesses and workers.
- Given El Salvador’s commitment to take significant steps to advance a stronger and more reciprocal trade relationship, the United States will remove the reciprocal tariffs on El Salvador’s exports to the United States for certain qualifying exports that cannot be grown, mined, or naturally produced in the United States in sufficient quantities.
- The United States will also remove the reciprocal tariffs from and provide preferential treatment to certain products, such as textiles and apparel products, qualifying under the CAFTA-DR. This will be a boon for U.S. textile production and El Salvador’s economic growth, and will strengthen the resilience of textile and apparel supply chains.
- Two-way Trade in Goods and Services with El Salvador amounted to over $10.7 billion in 2024.
- The United States currently runs a $2.2 billion goods trade surplus with El Salvador.
LIBERATING AMERICA FROM UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES: Since Day One, President Trump challenged the assumption that American workers and businesses must tolerate unfair trade practices that have disadvantaged them for decades and contributed to our historic trade deficit.
- On April 2, President Trump declared a national emergency in response to the unprecedented threat caused to the United States by the large and persistent trade deficit caused by a lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships, disparate tariff rates and non-tariff barriers, and U.S. trading partners’ economic policies that suppress domestic wages and consumption.
- President Trump continues to advance the interests of the American people and our agricultural sector by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers and expanding market access for American exporters.
- Today’s announcement provides a tangible path forward with El Salvador that underscores the President’s dedication to bringing balanced, reciprocal trade with an important trading partner.
