On February 5, 2026, Argentina and the United States signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment (“ARTI”). This instrument, which concludes negotiations that began a few years back, reshapes the bilateral relationship between the two countries, by not only reducing trade barriers but also establishing guidelines on regulatory governance in areas such as digital economy, technological infrastructure and security.
Firstly, the ARTI incorporates an important change for operations with cross-border effects: Argentina must recognize as valid those electronic signatures generated in the United States, provided they are supported by a digital certificate, reliably identify the signer, and ensure the integrity of the document. This could simplify contracting and onboarding processes in regional or global environments.
Furthermore, the ARTI establishes that both countries will continue coordinating export controls on sensitive dual-use goods and technologies -civil and military- within the framework of existing multilateral regimes. This implies cooperation through the exchange of information related to exports of dual-use technologies and the strengthening of internal control mechanisms, such as audits, investigations, and sanctions. These measures anticipate greater traceability and heightened compliance expectations in operations involving hardware or software considered sensitive.
Finally, the agreement includes specific obligations to raise the protection standards applicable to technology used in telecommunications and border control. Specifically, Argentina commits to:
(i) Use communication technology suppliers that do not compromise national infrastructure security.
(ii) Align its security standards for airport screening equipment with international standards.
(iii) Introduce stricter security criteria in public procurement processes to prevent the acquisition of technologies that may entail security risks.
(iv) Cooperate with U.S. technical experts to implement control measures in space installations operated by third countries to ensure they are used exclusively for civilian purposes.
For information and communication service providers and companies linked to critical infrastructure, these changes could result in stricter eligibility criteria, more exhaustive verifications, and heightened cybersecurity requirements in public tenders and contracts.
In summary, the ARTI establishes a broad economic and regulatory cooperation framework between Argentina and the United States, introducing significant changes for both the private and public sectors in matters of information technologies and security.
In order to access the full text of the ARTI, click here
