US Treasury in talks with Argentina on $20bln support
WASHINGTON
An anti-government demonstrator holds a sign with a message that reads in Spanish: "Yes to the law", as she marches against President Javier Milei's veto of bills that would have increased funding to a pediatric hospital and several universities in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025.
The United States said it was in talks with Argentina on a $20 billion program of economic support, buoying the South American nation's markets and embattled leader Javier Milei.
The right-wing Milei, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has been struggling to ease market jitters ahead of midterm elections, which could determine the future of his austerity agenda.
The battered peso rebounded after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced his department was negotiating with Argentine officials on "a $20 billion swap line."
Bessent added that Washington was also ready to buy Argentina's dollar bonds, among other measures.
"As President Trump has stated, we stand ready to do what is needed to support Argentina," he wrote on X.
Milei thanked the U.S. president and Bessent for their "support and confidence."
Swap lines are transactions that usually involve two central banks agreeing to swap their currencies at a set exchange rate for a specified period.
It is unclear, however, whether the talks with Argentina involve the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Milei's election was cheered by investors in 2023 but he has begun to hemorrhage support after two years of biting austerity and a corruption scandal involving his sister.
His party was beaten by the center-left Peronist movement in Buenos Aires provincial elections on Sept. 7.
The vote, which sent the peso into a tailspin, was seen as a litmus test for national legislative elections scheduled for Oct. 26.
Milei has accused the opposition of deliberately stoking "panic" to weaken him.
