25 September 2026
The UAE and Argentina launched negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 24 September 2026, in a joint statement issued in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The announcement followed a meeting between Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, and Pablo Quirno, Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship. Non-oil trade between the two countries reached USD 767.5 million in 2025, up 42.6 per cent on 2024. Both sides pointed to the partnership between YPF and XRG inside the Argentina LNG project, which carries total investment of approximately USD 51 billion and an initial liquefaction capacity of 12 million tonnes per year, as the flagship of the relationship. No date was set for concluding the talks.
What the two ministers announced
The joint statement does two things. It confirms the start of trade negotiations toward a CEPA, and it commits both governments to fast-tracking those talks with the aim of concluding an agreement that expands market opportunities for goods and services of mutual interest. The stated ambition goes beyond tariffs: the two sides want the agreement to strengthen the link between trade and investment flows and to attract what they describe as high-quality investment into named sectors.
The ministers also underlined that the relationship is not starting from zero. A Bilateral Investment Treaty and a Double Taxation Agreement are already in force between the UAE and Argentina, and the statement describes both as providing a stable, predictable and robust framework for increased trade and investment. In practice that matters more than it sounds. Investment protection and relief from double taxation are the two instruments a cross-border investor looks at first, and they are already in place. The CEPA would sit on top of that foundation rather than replace it.
The sectors named in the joint statement
Both governments listed the areas where they expect the agreement to pull in investment:
- Mining and minerals. Argentina holds lithium, copper and other critical minerals that sit directly in the path of UAE industrial and energy strategy.
- Artificial intelligence and data centres. Named as a pair, in line with how the UAE has been structuring its technology investments abroad.
- Energy. The largest live item, anchored by the Argentina LNG project described below.
- Pharmaceuticals and agribusiness. Two sectors where Argentina is an established exporter and the UAE is a net importer with food security objectives.
- Aerospace, infrastructure, tourism, real estate and urban development. The longer-horizon items, closer to investment promotion than to near-term trade in goods.
Argentina LNG and the XRG stake
The flagship the statement singles out is real and already under construction as a commercial structure. XRG is the international investment arm of ADNOC, launched in November 2024 as a lower-carbon energy and chemicals platform valued at more than USD 80 billion at the time. In February 2026 Eni, YPF and XRG signed a joint development agreement on Argentina LNG, which plans two floating LNG units of 6 million tonnes per year each, for a combined 12 million tonnes per year, fed by gas from the Vaca Muerta shale basin. The partners have been running front end engineering design work with a final investment decision targeted for the second half of 2026.
The figure quoted in the joint statement, approximately USD 51 billion, is the total expected investment across the life of the project rather than an amount committed today. The project has been submitted under Argentina’s large investment incentive regime, and the joint statement notes the potential for capacity to expand beyond the initial 12 million tonnes per year. For the UAE this is the template it has been repeating: a state-linked investment vehicle takes a position in an upstream or infrastructure asset abroad, and a trade agreement follows to widen the commercial channel around it.
Where Argentina fits in the UAE CEPA programme
The CEPA programme was launched in September 2021 and the UAE had signed 38 agreements under it as of August 2026. The programme is the main instrument behind the country’s non-oil trade expansion: UAE non-oil foreign trade reached AED 1.937 trillion in the first half of 2026, of which AED 304.3 billion was with countries where a CEPA is already in force.
Argentina is a smaller counterparty than most of the names already in the programme. Bilateral non-oil trade of USD 767.5 million is modest against those totals, which is precisely why the growth rate of 42.6 per cent in a single year is the number to watch rather than the absolute figure. The UAE minister has described Argentina as one of the most relevant commercial partners for the UAE in Latin America, and the negotiation extends the programme into a region where the UAE has comparatively few agreements in force.
What a CEPA changes, and what has not changed yet
This is the part worth being precise about, because launch announcements are routinely read as if something has already come into effect. Nothing has. What was announced on 24 September 2026 is the opening of negotiations. There is no signed text, no tariff schedule, no services annex and no entry into force date. The joint statement did not specify dates for the next stages of the talks.
When a CEPA does enter into force, it typically delivers three things: the removal or reduction of duties on an agreed list of goods, improved access for named services sectors, and a set of investment and procedural commitments that sit alongside existing treaties. Each of those is negotiated line by line, and the schedules decide who actually benefits. Until the text exists, no company can plan a supply chain around it. The realistic posture for a UAE business today is to note the direction of travel and to watch for the signature, not to restructure anything.
What UAE based companies should take from this
For traders already moving goods between the UAE and South America, the practical value of this announcement is forward visibility. If your product sits in one of the named sectors, the eventual tariff schedule is the document to read, and the time to make the case for your HS codes is while negotiations are open, through the relevant chamber or industry body.
For companies considering a UAE base for Latin American trade, the structural questions are the ones that already decide the outcome: whether a free zone or a mainland licence fits the activity, how customs treatment works for re-export, and which banking setup will clear payments in the corridors you use. Our comparison of mainland and free zone company structures in the UAE covers the trade off that governs most of these decisions, and the choice does not change because a new CEPA is under negotiation. It is the reason trade agreements are a tailwind rather than a trigger.
How Atlant Capital can help
We work with companies building a UAE presence for cross-border trade and investment. That covers company formation in the UAE, selecting the licence and activity codes that match what you actually ship or supply, and opening a corporate bank account with a bank that is comfortable with your trade corridors and counterparties. If Argentina or the wider Latin American market is part of your plan, we can look at the structure now so that the licence and banking are in place well before any agreement is signed.
Source: GCC Business News.
FAQ
Have the UAE and Argentina signed a trade agreement?
No. On 24 September 2026 the two countries announced the launch of negotiations toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, in a joint statement issued in New York during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. There is no signed text and no entry into force date. The joint statement did not specify dates for the next stages of the talks.
How much do the UAE and Argentina trade with each other?
Non-oil trade between the two countries reached USD 767.5 million in 2025, an increase of 42.6 per cent on 2024. That is a small volume by UAE standards, given that total UAE non-oil foreign trade was AED 1.937 trillion in the first half of 2026 alone, but it is growing quickly from a low base.
What is the Argentina LNG project and how is the UAE involved?
Argentina LNG is a liquefied natural gas export project fed by gas from the Vaca Muerta shale basin. Eni, YPF and XRG signed a joint development agreement in February 2026 covering two floating LNG units of 6 million tonnes per year each, for a combined 12 million tonnes per year. XRG is the international investment arm of ADNOC. The joint statement puts total investment across the life of the project at approximately USD 51 billion.
What would a UAE Argentina CEPA change for my business?
Nothing yet, because the agreement is only at the negotiation stage. Once a CEPA enters into force it normally removes or reduces duties on an agreed list of goods, improves access for named services sectors, and adds investment and procedural commitments. Which companies benefit depends on the tariff schedules and services annexes, and those do not exist until the text is agreed.
Which sectors are the two countries targeting?
The joint statement names mining and minerals, artificial intelligence, data centres, pharmaceuticals, energy, agribusiness, aerospace, tourism, infrastructure, real estate and urban development. Energy is the sector with the largest live commitment behind it, through the Argentina LNG project.
