The U.S. Treasury finalizes a $20B currency swap with Argentina, sparking political debate amid concerns over "America First" priorities.
U.S. Treasury and Argentina agree to a $20B currency swap deal to stabilize markets, igniting political debate over foreign financial support (Photo: File)
Washington: The United States directly purchased Argentine pesos on Thursday and finalized a $20 billion currency swap line with Argentina’s central bank, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post a rare move aimed at stabilizing turbulent financial markets in the cash-strapped Latin American ally.
“U.S. Treasury is prepared, immediately, to take whatever exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability to markets,” Bessent said, adding that the Treasury Department held four days of meetings with Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo in Washington D.C. to cement the deal.
Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei, a fervent admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump, thanked Bessent for his “strong support” and Trump for his “powerful leadership.”
“Together, as the closest of allies, we will make a hemisphere of economic freedom and prosperity,” Milei said in a social media post.
Bessent, under fire from U.S. farmers and Democratic lawmakers, has insisted that the credit swap is not a bailout. Farmers are angry about the idea of rescuing Argentina, whose own farmers have benefited from a recent gush of sales of soybeans to China at the expense of their U.S. counterparts.
Lawmakers have pushed Trump to explain how this financial help aligns with his “America First” agenda.
After the announcement Thursday, a group of Democratic Senators introduced the “No Argentina Bailout Act,” which would stop the Treasury Department from using its Exchange Stabilization Fund to assist Argentina.
“It is inexplicable that President Trump is propping up a foreign government, while he shuts down our own,” Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said in a statement.
