Less than 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Argentine President Javier Milei, telling him that U.S. financial aid was contingent on whether Milei’s party won in the Oct. 26 midterm elections, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emerged quickly in the morning of Oct. 15 to “clarify” Trump’s remarks. Even though Trump effusively praised Milei’s economic program, his failure to promise any new aid, beyond the Treasury’s completed purchase of an unspecified amount of pesos and the offer of a $20 billion swap line, caused an immediate 10% plunge in Argentine stocks and bonds, on Wall Street and in Buenos Aires. The country’s risk rate shot up and reserves dropped. Argentine opposition media pilloried Milei for letting the U.S. Treasury run Argentina’s economic policy.
Not to worry, Bessent reported this morning, according to Politico. He told reporters Milei can count on another $20 billion, that he said his department have been working on “for weeks” with the private sector and “other entities.” That would bring the total amount of financial aid to $40 billion. Reporting that the Treasury had purchased another amount of pesos this morning, he assured that banks and sovereign wealth funds are also interested. Bessent made no mention of that arrangement during the Oct. 14 meeting, and in fact repeated Trump’s threat that financial aid is contingent on the Oct. 26 electoral outcome.
