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Argentina Presses U.S.–IMF Lifeline Talks in Washington as Schumer Criticizes Proposed $20 Billion Swap

Conditional U.S. help tied to IMF-aligned policies is running into resistance in Washington.

Overview

  • Economy Minister Luis Caputo remains in Washington leading negotiations with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva, and no deal has been announced.
  • Reported options under discussion include a roughly $20 billion currency swap, U.S. purchases of Argentine bonds in primary and secondary markets, and a potential ESF standby credit line.
  • Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer publicly attacked the prospective rescue during a federal shutdown, underscoring partisan hurdles that could complicate or delay any package.
  • BCRA vice president Vladimir Werning said any U.S. backing hinges on keeping IMF program fundamentals, defended tighter monetary policy and reserve use as a short-term cost, and called dollarization very complex.
  • Market pressure persists, with local reports of more than $1.2 billion in recent Treasury dollar sales to defend the official rate and the Financial Times highlighting investor selloffs and a wider parallel exchange gap after renewed controls.