US working on new $20B facility to support Argentina’s economy, Treasury says
Washington says the plan would involve private banks and sovereign wealth funds to help ease Argentina’s debt burden, adding to an existing $20 billion swap line.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that Washington is working to establish a $20 billion "facility" to support Argentina’s struggling economy, with backing from private banks and sovereign wealth funds.
"We are working on a $20 billion facility that would be adjacent to our swap line, of private banks and sovereign wealth funds that I think would be more aimed at the debt market," Bessent told reporters in Washington.
He said the facility would come in addition to the $20 billion swap line already set up by the US Treasury with Argentina, bringing total support to around $40 billion.
Bessent said he had spent weeks working on the private-sector solution to help Buenos Aires meet its debt obligations.
His remarks boosted Argentine markets, with shares on the Merval index rising nearly 10 percent.
The latest pledge of support underscores the administration of US President Donald Trump’s backing for Argentina’s right-wing populist leader, Javier Milei, who faces a key test in midterm elections later this month.
Milei, who took office in 2023, implemented sweeping spending cuts to curb inflation and stabilise the economy, drawing fierce opposition and mass protests.
Last week, Bessent confirmed that the Treasury had already started purchasing Argentine pesos on global markets to support the currency.
Trump hosted Milei at the White House on Tuesday, expressing strong support ahead of the elections.
"If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina," Trump said.
The support measures come alongside the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, where the IMF welcomed US efforts to assist Buenos Aires.
‘Support assured’
In a television interview on Wednesday, Milei said Argentina and the United States were also discussing a potential trade agreement that would grant the country new market advantages.
"The US has strongly favoured Argentina," he said.
Milei added he was confident of continued US backing.
"We continue to advance the ideas of freedom, so at least until 2027 we have that support assured," he said.
Bessent said US assistance would depend on economic policy rather than political outcomes.
"It is not election-specific, it is policy-specific," he said.
"So as long as Argentina continues enacting good policy, they will have US support."