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OAN Staff Blake Wolf
11:07 AM – Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asserted that the $20 billion “economic stabilization” support agreement with Argentina is a “mission-critical effort” that can continue during the U.S. government shutdown.
However, President Donald Trump has stated that the financial package will depend on whether President Javier Milei and his administration remain in power — determining whether he can carry out his proposed market-liberalization reforms.
The $20 billion framework is effectively a currency swap, allowing Argentina’s central bank to exchange pesos for U.S. dollars through the Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund, in what amounts to a short-term loan. The arrangement aims to stabilize Argentina’s financial markets by boosting liquidity and investor confidence.
Bessent’s classification of the Argentina deal as “mission-critical” effectively exempts it from shutdown restrictions. The Trump administration’s support for Argentina — conditional on Milei’s continued leadership — further underscores Trump’s alignment with the Libertarian president’s economic agenda.
“[President] Donald Trump’s America First economic agenda has already provided over $2 trillion in tax cuts for middle class Americans, lower taxes and less red tape for small businesses, and the strength on the world stage to both counter our adversaries and support our allies,” Bessent wrote in an X post on Tuesday.
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“As we work to stabilize and secure the Western Hemisphere and Make America Safe Again, the @USTreasury has signed an economic stabilization agreement with the Central Bank of Argentina. President [Milei’s] efforts to reverse his nation’s decades of decline, stemming from the radical leftism of the Peronists are of critical importance.”
“Argentina now has the opportunity to embrace economic freedom, and our stabilization agreement is a bridge to a better economic future for Argentina, not a bailout. President Milei has worked hard to reverse previous irresponsible economic policies, including overspending, fiscal irresponsibility, and reckless borrowing,” he continued.
“We do not want another failed state in Latin America, and a strong, stable Argentina as a good neighbor is explicitly in the strategic interest of the United States. President Trump is leading the way in the Western Hemisphere and our Administration supports President Milei’s current reform plans and prudent fiscal strategy to Make Argentina Great Again,” Bessent added.
Meanwhile, in a response letter to Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren regarding her concerns about the focus on Argentina during the government shutdown, Bessent wrote: “We have been forced to prioritize mission-critical efforts necessary to the discharge of the President’s constitutional duties, including national security and global financial stability.”
Milei was inaugurated as Argentina’s president in December 2023 and has since keyed in on major economic reform by slashing government ministries and regulations, in line with his Libertarian principles aimed at combating hyperinflation and stabilizing the struggling Argentinian economy.
Under Milei’s leadership, Argentina recorded its first fiscal surplus in 14 years, while dramatically reducing annual inflation from over 200% to roughly 32%.
The value of the Argentine peso took a hit after Milei’s party experienced major setbacks in local elections, throwing doubt over whether he will be able to retain the political capital required to enact his economic agenda — which will come down to the upcoming midterm elections.
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