Before Trump meets Milei, US promises to bail out Argentina of financial crisis

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said “all options” were being considered to stabilise Argentina, including swap lines and direct currency purchases, while underlining President Donald Trump’s confidence in President Javier Milei and his economic team.

Will the ‘Large and forceful’ measures work?

Bessent told reporters any US support would be “large and forceful”, but added no action would be taken until after Trump and he meet Milei in New York on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Asked if Washington could act immediately afterwards, Bessent said, “We’ll see where the markets are and what the level of outflows are – or maybe the outflows turn into inflows – but no one should doubt the resolve of this administration, or my resolve.”

He declined to give specifics but repeated, “I can tell you that it will be large and forceful.”

How does the Argentine market reaction

The comments sparked a rally in Argentine assets on Monday, with US-traded stocks surging more than 10 per cent and the peso strengthening after weeks of steep losses. Investors had been unnerved by corruption allegations around Milei’s allies and a heavy local election defeat in Buenos Aires, which fuelled doubts about his austerity programme ahead of October’s midterms.

Confidence in Milei’s reforms

Bessent, a former hedge fund executive, dismissed concerns of broader financial contagion and stressed Washington’s confidence in Argentina’s reforms. Since taking office in late 2023, Milei has managed to rein in inflation and deliver a budget surplus.

“What they’re trying to do is bolster Argentina until the elections – if they can get that far,” said Mark Sobel, a former senior Treasury official. “Milei deserves tremendous credit for what they’ve done on the fiscal and monetary policy front … but the exchange rate is just vastly overvalued and they’ve got to fix that.”

No new conditions for support

Bessent also made clear that US support would not involve new conditions beyond Argentina’s compliance with its IMF loan programme. In a post on social media, he wrote that options “may include, but are not limited to, swap lines, direct currency purchases, and purchases of US dollar-denominated government debt from Treasury’s Exchange Stabilisation Fund.”