(Adds statement from Argentina Production Ministry, details about USTR IP issues, context on bilateral trade relations)
WASHINGTON/BUENOS AIRES, Dec 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday restored Argentina's eligibility under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade program, which was suspended in 2012, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement.
Argentina was being reinstated "following resolution of certain arbitral disputes with U.S. companies, new commitments by the Argentine government to improve market access for U.S. agricultural products, and improved protection and enforcement" of intellectual property rights, it said.
GSP provides duty-free treatment for goods from poor and developing countries. The restoration marks a positive step for trade relations between the two countries, which are at odds over steep duties the United States imposed this year on imports of soyoil-based biodiesel from Argentina.
"Bilateral trade is very low and there is a lot of room for advancement there," Argentina's Production Minister Francisco Cabrera said in a statement. "This is an important step in our efforts to integrate ourselves internationally."
The USTR said that due to certain remaining intellectual property rights issues, "the restoration of GSP benefits for Argentina will not apply to all eligible products."
In 2011, Argentina shipped $464 million worth of products that benefited from the regime, some 10 percent of total exports to the United States, according to the Production Ministry.
Its suspension the following year came amid tense bilateral relations under former populist President Cristina Fernandez, whose two terms were defined by interventionist economic policies and a protectionist stance toward foreign trade.
Relations have warmed since market-friendly President Mauricio Macri took office in December 2015. Following a visit from U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in August, Argentina agreed to allow imports of U.S. pork products.
The United States earlier this year agreed to allow lemon imports from Argentina's main producing region for the first time in 16 years. (Reporting by Eric Beech and Luc Cohen; editing by Mohammad Zargham)