“While many players take it for granted that the new quota recently negotiated between the governments of the United States and Argentina is already in effect or at least signed, reality is far from that,” said Miguel Gorelik, editor of the Argentine portal Valor Carne.
He explained that the U.S. Executive Branch has no legal authority to increase such quotas; it needs congressional approval through legislation.
Gorelik recalled the creation around six months ago of a 13,000-ton quota for British beef that would come out of the 65,000-ton allocation for third countries, but noted that “throughout this time, that promise could not be implemented due to the aforementioned legal obstacles. And this was not even an increase of the total, but rather a transfer of quotas that, moreover, could be challenged by preexisting beneficiaries before the WTO.”
According to the analyst, approving the creation of the quota for Argentina through a law “seems difficult in the current context, given the ongoing complaints from legislators —including those from the president’s own party— against financial aid to Argentina, as well as from agricultural leaders over this issue and over the president’s favorable remarks about lowering the very high domestic price.”
Gorelik concluded by saying that “we’re not suggesting the quota expansion is impossible, but it will require great creativity and won’t happen immediately.”
